Liz survived her first week at school. The first day she was happy to be left, the second day, she was not so happy and the third day, she screamed and grabbed my leg and wouldn’t let go. They said she refused to talk to anyone during the morning class but after lunch, she was fine and played and chatted. She loved going on Thursday, because it was swimming day! And Friday, she went but not really happily. I thought we might have issues today but she was quite happy to go and talked about school and what she was going to play with. Once there, she went to her room – changed her shoes and walked in to put her toothpaste away. She wanted me to walk her to the window where she could see me when I left, then she said goodbye and gave me a hug. No crying, screaming or fighting to stay today. I left and waved goodbye to her from outside (she’s on the second story so I think she likes seeing me from above as I cycle off home). Hopefully, she’s been active today and talkative.
Our weekend was good – the girls both started in gymnastics classes on Saturday. I took Liz first to the wrong building and then had to walk back to the right one. We walked next to a man and his daughter going to the same class – a taxi pulled up to the stop light and stopped in the crosswalk (a Very common occurrence here if they even stop for the light) and the guy who was walking, just kept walking straight OVER THE HOOD of the taxi! Instead of getting mad and realizing why the guy was walking on his car, the taxi driver just laughed amused at the guy.
Liz took a while to participate in the gymnastics class and I was dreading having signed her up – I was having to hold her hand and help her do some tumbles and things while ALL the OTHER parents sat against the far side of the gym watching their children participate and laugh and have fun. But, eventually, I was able to walk away and she actually listened to the teachers and did some things and she’s really good! She even smiled a few times. I was able to sit for a few minutes and watch her. I also watched some of the parents – there were many dads there as Saturday and Sunday are dad days here since not much time during the week is spent with dad – and there were many “blackberry” dads – those guys sitting on the floor of the gym – typing on their blackberry and randomly looking up.
Ashley liked her class and I have no idea what she did in it as the parents weren’t allowed to watch.
Saturday night, Anthony and I headed out for a date – we went to a few different areas, trying to find a place to eat – finally ended up at a weird local Chinese restaurant attached to a mall – the food was so-so. We had ordered a round of beer and it came very cold. Ordered a second round and mine was cold, but Anthony’s was not. They opened it before letting us see if it was cold or not – then because it was warm brought out ice to cool it down. Not exactly the best way to drink beer, but he was thirsty.
The place we were reminded me a bit of Taipei as there were lots of street vendor selling jewelry, purses and clothes on the sidewalk. There was even a bit of a pet market for puppies – oh so CUTE! But to buy from a pet market here is basically buying an animal for a few months – they tend not to live very long.
On Sunday, we went to a place called Bubbas (a BBQ place opened by a Texan) and watched some of the UT game from Saturday. It was a nice gathering of UT fans and ok food. It’s hard to enjoy a game with kids running underfoot – and cranky ones at that – Ryken did not take a nap! But we did the best we could and saw the UT victory. Looking at the crowd yesterday, really did not seem like we were in China!
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