More candy gifts at the bus stop today! Chocolate this
time—I have wondered if the Chinese eat chocolate. According to my sources, kids do universally! and women. Some things are understandable in any culture.
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| Besides the candy, we also tried a mini melon today! |
Julia took some photos along the morning drive route—while
the stores around our neighborhood look a bit rough and not fancy at all, by
the time we get to the edge of the center of town, shops are looking well kept,
modern and tasteful.
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| A neighborhood shop |
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| A view of the street |
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| Our familiar overpass |
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| Our van-riding friend! |
And yet,
there is the water bottle delivery bike pedaling down the sidewalk among the
high rises! Everyone has a water
dispenser in his or her house. We
got our first delivery yesterday.
The poor guy hauled two blue water bottles (you know what they look
like) up the 4 stories, negotiated a deposit from me (80 yuan deposit, 15 yuan
for each bottle of water. That
means, several galloons-10?-for $2.40.
wow), and left. I had to boost
the bottle into the dispenser!
Julia enjoyed that spectacle.
She noted that I put it in ‘backwards,’ meaning that I turned the words
to the wall. The world is a
critic.
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| The water bottle bike - can you imagine riding with those?? |
Here is a glimpse into my classroom from today:
There was sun all day today, a welcome sight. From the 4th floor windows
of the school, the sea was a beautiful, sparkling sight. The lighthouse was clearly in view, as
was the Olympic Sailing Center and the bandstand awning, all across the
bay. Lots of flags flying, kites
flying, people walking and boats sailing or motoring around. A seaside is a dynamic place, very
entertaining; this one is well inhabited.
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| Our view, with some sunshine |
Today we had a play date with Maci, much longed for. Maci is in the second grade class, a
few weeks younger than Julia.
Julia is taking ‘specials’ in the afternoon with the 2nd
grade (art, music, gym) and academics in the mornings with the 3rd
grade. This was arranged because
there were some personality issues in the 2nd grade and only one
girl in the 3rd grade.
In practice, it has been an adequate but not perfect fit. So, slowly Julia is shifting over to the
2nd grade; the move will be complete as of Friday, I think. However, things are always more complicated
than the simple story. For,
apparently, Maci has a best, inseparable pal in the 2nd grade, and
they rule the roost there. They
are the two native speakers (remember, the native language is English in the
school!), and they are both outgoing, outspoken girls. So…if Julia thinks she is going to
transfer into a friendship, she may find it a little sticky! Why can’t we arrange things to be
pleasant and simple for our children?
I remember when Elinor was a homeschooled five year old—she was the only
girl her age among a handful of boys.
This didn’t bother her, but it was a factor as they aged up. Why can’t there be a best friend just
waiting for each kid at each stage?!
Anyway, a playdate—forestalled for half an hour by a parent who forgot to pick up her 3 year old (!) The girls colored mosaic patterns I had provided for the 3s and 4s, and ate pretzels. Then, the school van
left without us. What to do? We decided to take a taxi. Alas, next, we had our first iffy taxi experience. The driver read my community cue
card that I carry around with me and said ‘yes.’ Then she headed in the right direction, only to make an
unexpected turn. While I can’t say
where to go, I can identify when we’ve left the familiar path. It is possible that the taxi driver was
looking for a shortcut or a less traveled route, but instead we got into thick,
standstill traffic, right by the sea.
Seems like an obvious place NOT to go to! We twisted around and then got back onto the main, familiar
road—only to turn off of it again!
What to do! I felt both
frustrated and amazingly helpless.
I expect the worst result would have been a huge overcharge, rather than
being left on a dirt road in the middle of nowhere! Still, I didn’t like the feeling. Eventually, we wound back under our spider web highway, such
a landmark feature of the route out toward our community (and over the
mountain, as it is referred to).
So I knew we’d get home; however, it did cost 7 yuan more than the most
expensive taxi ride to the community so far; and 10 yuan more than the standard
ride. Darn it!
Maci regaled us with stories of her family’s 30 birds (back
in Utah), distracting Julia, at least, from any sense of worry. She’s a friendly and pleasant person,
so maybe all the worry about girl cliques will be for naught!
The girls went straight for necklace making, surprising me!
and later entered into that tried and true Thomas activity, Playmobile. They are deep into setup as I write,
eating pasta and being generally American. I am happy to relinquish my spot as chief playmate for the
afternoon.
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| Necklaces at the living room table |
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| Playmobile! |
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