Today was a day for successful scootering experiences, much
to Julia’s satisfaction. As we
left school (a bit late again today!), she was complaining about simply ‘going
home.’ So we asked Alex, also on
the van, if he’d like to ‘come play.’
A play date at our house doesn’t seem to be a familiar or usual idea for
them, but Alex and his mother (Maggie) willingly agreed to get together ‘after
dinner.’ We arranged to meet at
the van bus stop, and they’d show us a good, safe place to scooter. Julia was a bit disgruntled that it
wouldn’t happen right away, nor at our apt., but of course she had to make do.
We came on home, ate a simple dinner (the only kind we eat
in China), and headed out to the hill for 20 minutes of scootering before
meeting up with Alex.
Bonanza! Two brothers,
perhaps 6 and 5, were scootering around, and energy coalesced around the three
of them, as, wordlessly, they eyeballed one another. The gauntlet was thrown, the hill turned into a racecourse,
and the racers shifted positions with each circuit. Julia was all but chortling with delight, as they passed
round and round. It was just the
situation she has been wishing for each day; we’ve been typically surrounded
with younger children on their vehicles, lowering the intensity of the ride for
her.
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| Racing down the hill! |
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| All three together in the evening light |
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| Julia just loved the playmates! |
I took lots of neighborhood photos again this evening: we see little medium brown poodles all
over—this one was guarding his owner’s shop; high schoolers in their school
uniforms course down the hill all through every evening—they were still coming
home at 7:15, as we headed home; notice this yellow section of the
sidewalk: Maggie told me this
strip, visible everywhere, is designed for blind people—isn’t that cool? Finally, from this morning, the
stunning roses in the morning light; and an older man doing tai chi at the top
of the hill.
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| One of the familiar brown poodles |
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| High schoolers - always in their uniforms! |
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| The yellow, textured strip, visible in many places, designed to assist the blind |
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| Our beautiful bower of roses |
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| An older man, practicing Tai Chi (and see another one of the brown poodles in the background?) |
We met the Wongs and walked back toward their apartment and
the safe scootering place. Of
course safe turned out to be a little boring to Julia! As it was flat. On our way out, later, Julia angled to
scooter down the walkway, which was the most interesting aspect of this spot
for her, a great incline! Alex had
brought both his bike and scooter, so Julia mounted a bike for the first time
since last fall. She surprised
herself by being able to ride it with no training wheels or help. I suspect she’ll jump on her bike at
home and ride away for good. They
had a good time, watched over by Mr. Wong, who doesn’t speak any English
(interesting, as both his wife and son do with good fluency). Maggie took me into the SPAR department
store and walked me around, pointing out good merchandise and reliable
products.
We spotted a good toy
store section and a nice spot for some Julia clothes shopping. It was fun, and very helpful of
Maggie. Also in the building is an
indoor gym area for kids ages 3-8; something to invite Alex to do with us in
the weeks after school is done (Mama will teach for 2 weeks after Julia is
done).
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| Adorable Alex |
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| Julia trying out Alex's bike |
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| Riding together! |
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| Happy girl on an incline! |
We gathered everyone up and treated the kids to an ice cream
treat; while they ate, Maggie took me into the first floor grocery store housed
in this building. Again, she
shared lots of useful information and pointed out good products; very
helpful. This store is quite close
to us, clean, good prices, a nice find.
Of course, we’ll keep checking out other stores that are recommended by
others; we like to shop!
The day began with the pending visit of the Montessori
team—the aides were already in the classroom when I got there, anxiously
cleaning, straightening, primping.
The team entered the classroom at about 9 am, which is just about when
we hold circle time. We did that
(sang “Mary’s here today, Mary’s here today, let’s all clap our hands, Mary’s
here today” which the children
LOVE!) with success, I venture to say, and then encouraged the children to
return to their works. The team
stayed another half hour and then surprised us all by leaving. Good or bad
sign? They met us, later, on the
playground for a few minutes’ chat, and then came back into the classroom at
about 2:15 to answer any questions we might have. The Chinese representative took the aides aside and spoke to
them at length—she complimented them profusely as she was leaving. Meanwhile, I chatted with the American
Montessori representative. They
validated what we are doing, which, I have to say, has been quite successful
this week. Will we teach the kids
to speak English this month? No, emphatically. But, we will give the class more focus, more coherence, and,
as a result, a more pleasant environment.
I feel pretty good about what I’ve been able to bring to the situation,
with the substantial assistance of these two women.
Julia showed up in the lunchroom, at something of a loss
about what she was supposed to be doing.
While she stood there, I fed her rice and broccoli from my plate; the 3s
and 4s were fascinated to watch!
Her class is going to take a field trip for lunch next week; she wants
me to come as a chaperone and was not accepting when I noted that I have to
teach at that time. She likes to
check in with me!
As we made our way home tonight, after all our neighborhood
adventures, a better evening than Julia had anticipated, we noticed the last of
this month’s moon in the still blue sky; I love the moon!
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| The nighttime moon |
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