Fun with Phil

Looking back I realized I never wrote about when we all went to the HSBC World Golf Championship last year at Sheshan Golf Course. It was a great tournament made even better when it became the Katie and Phil mutual admiration society. I never would have thought that we could top the experience, but the first couple of days of this year's tournament is turning into just as wonderfully momentous.

Unfortunately, Larry is in Singapore this week and will only be able to attend Sunday's round. Fortunately for Katie, I am a mother with whacked priorities and allowed her to miss two days of school so she could rekindle her relationship. Seriously, the odds he would remember her should have been less than zero, but by God, the man spotted her after he walked off the first tee during the Pro-Am, and exclaimed, "Hi there! How have you been?" and gave her a big high-five. Are you kidding me?!?! His caddie had already given her a ball. We could have gone home then quite happy, but we headed over to our lucky spot from last year, the 7th green. From that spot we had a clear view of every single player. As the groups came through, we applauded politely. We were the ONLY ones there. Every single player smiled, said 'hello', and/or gave Katie a ball. By the time Phil came by, she'd already gotten four balls. We followed Phil in as he played the next two holes and as he came off the 9th green, he gave Katie a nice fist bump.

After we had a quick lunch we headed over to 18. The players were either finishing up or walking over to one and had to pass by us. Katie got quite a few autographs; Retief Goosen and Adam Scott were hurrying through, but the volunteer workers took a liking to Katie and grabbed her tournament hat and got the players to autograph it as they were walking.

We were cutting it close in terms of time as we had to be home by five, but Katie wanted to try and get Phil's autograph. The crowds were getting bigger and rowdier, but we found a spot and Phil spotted his buddy and signed her special Calloway hat. No sooner had he left then Tiger came through. People were jammed up against us as he neared us and Katie was getting crushed. Tiger was no more than two feet away when Katie starting crying and the body guards yelled at the crowd "Ting" (chinese for stop). When they did that, Tiger looked up, saw the scene and walked away. Yes, we were upset, but I'm glad he did as truly the crowd was scary.

I told Katie that it was time to leave, but as we were walking past the clubhouse Katie spotted Phil. She asked me if I thought he would take a picture with her. I told her "Let's find out". She walked over to him, waited for him to look up and asked. He said "Of course. Please, let her through." I just about swallowed my heart and almost bumbled the whole thing by not having my camera ready, but he waited with his arm around her. Ok, now our day was complete.

I contemplated not even going the next day, wondering how could it be any better. Katie wouldn't hear of it.

More to come....

Sunny Saturday

After a week of rain, the sun made an appearance Saturday. What a glorious day. Sunshine always lifts the spirits, and mine had gotten kind of low as I'm losing a battle against a cold. Katie played in a football (soccer) tournament, which began at 8:30am. Larry, thankfully, took her and let the twins and I sleep for a few more minutes.

There were five schools competing in the tournament. Katie's team played three games; losing two and tying one. Since they only practice once a week, I really wasn't too surprised at the outcome. The other girls' teams were made up of older girls, so Katie used that as an excuse as well. I was reminded of watching my niece, Julia, playing soccer one time. She looked so cute in her little uniform, standing in the middle of the field, twirling her hair, not at all concerned with the game going on around her. Several of the girls on an opposing team were practicing their cartwheels at mid-field. However, Dulwich's boys' teams did well, winning the "cup".

After the games, the girls and I went out to lunch and then took a walk along the lakeshore. We took lots of pictures, pretending it was for a magazine...basically hamming it up and enjoying the gorgeous weather. My girls love the camera and the camera certainly loves them.

Staycation

It's holiday time again around here starting with National Day on October 1. The girls and Larry are on vacation and we decided to stick around and explore the surrounding area.

Things didn't start off too well as Larry, Katie and Sarah developed a mean stomach bug Friday. Katie wanted to go to TGIF for her birthday dinner. We usually stay awhile, but Larry looked almost green. Sarah recovered quicker and was raring to go the next day. Larry didn't eat for a couple of days. I made a birthday cake and it hardly got touched as nobody felt like eating.

Thankfully, we all felt better by Sunday. We'd made plans to go to the Shanghai Westin for the brunch. Larry and I went in June and told each other we had to bring the girls. There is food galore, drinks galore and entertainment galore. We arrived when the doors opened and didn't leave until the food was taken away. Four hours of food bliss. The free flowing champagne didn't hurt either. Afterwards, we went to the Bund, which is along the river and sports some of the prettiest views in Shanghai. There were plenty of people, all of whom wanted a picture with the girls. They posed with folks for a good ten minutes before we pulled them away.

Monday, we went to the city of Hangzhou. It's about the same distance away as Shanghai, but once we got to the city it took another hour and a half to navigate to West Lake, where we met up with Linda and her friends. We had no idea the city was so huge. There's plenty to see and do, but definitely not during the holiday week as there's just too many people. The walkways along the river were packed. We took a twenty minute ferry ride out to one of the islands. Like everything in China, the lake has a long history. The Mid-Lake Pavilion, on the earliest of three islands, was built in 1552. The folklore surrounding the various bridges, ponds, archways and statues is staggering. Most involved emperors, princesses, secret romances and lost loves. Linda tried to keep us educated, but even she wasn't sure of some it. We left her with her friends and headed back, only to get stuck in a traffic jam at the toll booth entering into Jiangsu province. Eight lanes down to two, the toll booths were staggering the entrance for all the cars. We sat for close to an hour and a half.

Larry's quality team invited us for an adventure out at Lake Tai on Wednesday. We again, weren't sure where they were taking us until we pulled into the aquarium parking lot. Twice is ok, but not three times. We told them we'd just been a couple weeks prior. We asked about the chairlift ride and scenic vista at the top of the mountain. Ask and you shall receive. I'm not sure how old the chairlift was, but it looked suspiciously like the one I used to ride at Mt. Tom in Massachusetts in the early 80's. The view from the top was beautiful. Even though it was hazy, we could see the surrounding hills and the lake, which encompassed three quarters of the area. The girls were more excited about how we were going to get down the mountain. A 1.2 kilometer alpine slide weaved its way to the bottom and the girls were chomping at the bit to try it. Sarah went with Larry, Syd came with me, while Katie braved the ride on her own. It didn't take us long to get the hang of it. Squealing the whole way down, we hardly noticed the lack of safety nets as we banked high on the steep cliff. We were going too fast to worry about it all. Larry's co-workers weren't as daring as us and it took them a good seven or eight minutes where it took us only two to get to the bottom.

Lunch was at one of the many restaurants found on the first island. Owners stand out on the road and flag down cars as they pass hoping they'll stop. We walked through the little restaurant's kitchen and prep area to the garden seating in back. There were a half dozen small gazebos set up amidst the sweet smelling tea olives and trees. We didn't look too closely, though, as lunch could have easily escaped from the backyard and ended up in our gazebo. Most of the lunch items came straight from the lake or various streams running through the island. Small fried fish, a large steamed one, river shrimp, and plenty of fresh vegetables. There were a couple of mystery meats, from which I stayed away. Sydney once again tried just about everything and amazed us all when she ate about a cupful of snails. She said she really liked them, but I think she enjoyed the notoriety more.

Our adventure continued over to the third island, Xishan (West Hill). We'd driven by the area last year, but I was too chicken to stop. Linwu Caves was supposedly a haven for Taoists during the Tang and Song Dynasty. I tried to overlook the lack of safety railings as we explored the caves and then climb the hill to the Jiafu Tower. Katie and Larry didn't go to the Tower and by the time I'd made it back down I'd wished I'd abstained. My knees were screaming at me. The view from the top was almost worth the climb.

Larry had to go back to work on Thursday, so the girls and I caught up on some much needed housework. The weather has been delightful, hindered only by the bloodthirsty mosquitos. A much needed staycation for all...well, not really for me as I feel like I've been on one for a year now.

Off to the Races

One of the reasons I'm so in love with Dulwich College is its emphasis on not only academics, but the arts and athletics. Of course, I'm all for promotion of the arts. Last year, Katie had to learn how to play a string instrument; violin. This year, it's a wind instrument and she is loving the saxaphone. All three sing in the choir.

Athletics is also a huge part of the curriculum. Healthy competition is not only accepted, but nurtured. The college is divided into four 'Houses'; Wing, Anand, Howard, and Shackleton, in which the girls are members. These houses have a long history involving big names from Dulwich. The competition is fierce and bragging rights are huge. DC-Suzhou has been around for only a few years, but has been dominated by Wing. Shackleton starts the year out strong, but falters. It's finished in the bottum two each year. Last year, I was introduced to the fierceness of the rivalry at the Interhouse Cross Country races. We all know my abhorance for running of any kind. Every sport I played, I was goalie so I could avoid running. Katie, too, is not a fan of running. She finished in last place...but she finished and the entire school was there cheering her as she crossed the finish line four minutes after the runner before her.

This year, all three Whitfield girls were competing. They've been training for the past month. The course the Year 3's and 4's (twins are in Year 3) ran was 1.4 kilometers. Years 5-7's courses was 2.2 kilometers. The set-up for the races is as exciting as an Olympic event. Houses march out with inspirational music blaring. The kids are cheering loudly as Mr. Dunn, the P.E. instructor calls the groups to the line. The little ones race first. Many of them take off like a shot, but pitter out. I ran to the half way mark and watched the twins race by. Sarah was going so fast she ran right out of her shoe, slowing down only long enough to slip it back on. She finished seventh. Sydney, in her quest to be named "most helpful student in the history of students" actually turned around to help a friend, who said she couldn't go on, so she ended up twenty-second.

My heart was beating so fast as Katie's group was called. Last year, Mr. Hallam, who, coincidently, is her teacher this year, ran the course with Katie. She asked him if he would run with her again. He did. I walked over to the half way point and was speechless as I saw Katie running. Mr Hallam said she hadn't stopped yet. Many of the girls sprinted out early, but were walking. As Katie neared them in her slow and steady pace, they'd sprint ahead again, but, by God, Katie kept going. She finished last again, but a full four minutes ahead of her time last year and only a few seconds behind the runner ahead of her. The cheers for her cracked my heart.

Watching the rest of the races, I was sure Shackleton was headed for another defeat. The senior school, though, actually had some strong runners and the finishes were exciting...as exciting as a foot race can be.

Afterwards, the kids sat under their respective tents waiting for the results. Starting with last place, the houses were called. It was positively deafening when Wing was called out in second place. Shackleton had somehow pulled out a victory. Looking back on the day, each of my girls made me so proud. Yes, winning is awesome, but they all proved they are winners in very different ways.

Party All the Time

Some would call me a glutton for punishment. Others would say I thrive on chaos. Both, I guess, are accurate. After Katie's sleepover party last year, I hastily vowed to not go through that again. A year later and what do I do? Agree to another sleepover and, for the heck of it, double the numbers.

The onslought began Friday evening. Several of the girls rode the late bus home with mine and for the next sixteen hours the house was in complete disarray. All of the party guests arrived by seven. Presents were opened, sleeping bags were spread out, and snacks were devoured. Everyone changed into their swimsuits, and the gang headed down to the neighborhood pool. I had no idea twelve girls could make so much noise. My ears were ringing when we left an hour and half later.

More food was eaten, games were played, drama ensued, tears dried, "Happy Birthday" was sung, candles blown out, kareoke was played, movies were watched, more drama ensued, and finally, around two a.m. all were asleep.

I hoped they would sleep in the morning at least until seven, but madness resumed at six. They were dressed and outside by quarter to seven playing capture the flag. The morning was capped off when Larry came in with a butterscotch kitten.

All the girls were gone by ten. I told the parents that their daughters probably wouldn't make it through the day without a nap, but if they did, chances are they'd be pretty cranky.

As much as I want to swear off any more sleepvers, I know there are many more in my future. The twins have already said they want to have one in a couple of months. Give me strength.

Repeat Visit

Ok, so I swore when we arrived in China last year we would visit as many places as possible. There's so much to see here, we never have to go to the same place twice...except maybe once.

Back in April, the twins and their Year Two classmates went to the newly opened (of course, it's new) Suzhou Ocean Aquarium. It was so unbelievably crowded we didn't see everything and what we did see we certainly weren't able to linger. Wendy and her family invited us to meet them at the aquarium this past Saturday. Even though the twins and I had been, I figured it didn't really violate my self-imposed rule since Larry and Katie hadn't gone.

We arrived just before the last of the afternoon shows. The first one we went to was the Mermaid Show, which consisted of a girl in a mermaid costume diving down into the observation tanks and waving to the audience. I suppose some kids might fall for it, but of course, mine wanted to know why she was wearing goggles and nose plugs. The Dolphin Show was next. I use the term 'dolphin show' quite loosely as it mostly consisted of juggling clowns making balloon animals. Two seals performed first and five dolphins performed for a total of maybe ten minutes. I will say, the animals were better this time. The last show was a 3D movie. We had the entire theatre to ourselves. Unfortunately, both short movies were in Chinese.

When we came out of the little theatre we were able to really explore the aquarium since there were probably three other patrons in the entire place. The girls examined all the creatures and left their fingerprints on all the tanks. Quite a different place than it was back in April.

Construction

The entire country of China is under construction. Everywhere you look, there are tower cranes working on high rises. Roads are being built, railroad systems are expanding and airports are being enlarged. It's mind-boggling to actually witness an industrial, societal and economical...explosion of sorts as it's happening so quickly. Coming home one day from the store, I counted 42 cranes and I'm sure I missed many. However, these buildings are going up much faster than they are being filled. Hugh apartment complexes sit empty, shopping malls are deserted and failed stores are stripped down and demolished as quickly as they go up.

Construction has even invaded our neighborhood. Royal Peninsula, where we live, is about five years old. Each townhouse is individually owned and most are then rented out, like ours. Three units across the street are being completely gutted and renovated. I have pitied the poor families who live in between the units as the sounds of jackhammers, saws and drills have filled the air from 8am to 6pm everyday through the week for the past eight months. Now, I am in need of pity. The unit next door to us was sold, the family was told to move out and now it's being gutted and renovated. Dozens of workers are busy from dawn to dusk. A truckload of sand was dumped in our driveway. The machinery cannot be started until 8am, but, I swear, they set their watches and as soon as they click to 8, all hell breaks loose. When I don't have a driver or it's raining torrents forcing me to stay home, I've been popping Excedrin like it's candy. Today, I have gotten a bit of a reprieve. The jackhammering has temporarily stopped and they are removing the debris from the third floor. It's been quite an event to witness. With 'rope', which looks suspiciously like twisted fishing net, tied around the waist of one worker, they are lowering cement-filled bag after bag from the third floor balcony down to another awaiting worker, who has to sidestep the giant pile of sand and our basketball back post. Safety issues are not their top priority. When I took the pictures the guys all started laughing and pointing. I'm not sure who's watching whom as they seem to be looking at me everytime I glance out the window to watch them. Anyway, I hope these guys are quicker than the crews across the street or it's going to be a long fall, winter and spring.

Larry and I have commented how most of the chinese population cannot afford to shop in the stores that are currently being built, nor can they afford to live in the new housing complexes. An example, for instance, is Linda. Her monthly...yes, monthly salary is 700RMB. That's roughly $100. She said chinese people on average make around 1200-1500RMB a month and with that they have to pay for housing, food, etc. and give money to their parents. And they manage. One can sense a change is brewing, though. As more 'westerners' and their western ways embed themselves, the more the younger chinese generation begins to embrace those ways. Good or bad? Only time will tell.