Meet Ginger

"A House without a dog is not a Home".
I know more than a few of you subscribe to this belief. Tomorrow I will go to the States for 12 glorious days with my sisters in NY and to attend a cousin's wedding in Maryland. (Congratulations Anna and Aarish!) Originally, as I am going alone, (Freedom! Oh, did I say that outloud?) and Daddy will be a single with the 2 kiddos, the plan had been to wait til I come back and then we would begin searching the local Rescue groups for the right addition to fill the hole in this house with no dog. Hah! Never make plans, as fate always has other ideas for your life!

Enter Ginger, my "gap" dog.

I was calling her that because I had been watching her this summer for the neighbors when we lost Barney, so she filled the gap for awhile as I got used to not having my own dog anymore. The neighbors have only had her for a few months and when they returned to Shanghai, showering me with gifts of smuggled Parmesan cheese and salami, they had finalized a decision to return to Europe. Based on tiny quarters available to them and much uncertainty about what happens next (do they stay in Italy? Move on to Brazil? Perhaps Algeria?) they decided that it would be better for them to find a new home for her now rather than take her with. So the word was spread: Can anyone in the neighborhood take her?

I mentioned it to Heinz and his initial response was, "Well, she's no Barney". Truly, can any dog ever hope to be? The more I thought about it, the more I realized that my main concern was that she needed to be rehomed before I returned from my trip. Would having a new dog in the household while I am away make it too complicated? If she doesn't get her morning and evening walk (which can be very hard to achieve when there is only one parent in the house) will she chew up all the shoes and sofa pillows while Daddy and the kiddos are asleep? In the scheme of 2 weeks versus her lifetime, that fuzzy face won my heart and we decided to take her sooner rather than later. Last week she became ours. And we are so happy to have her.

She has all the qualities that makes Golden Retrievers one of the most popular breeds year on year:

the big, happy smile with the soulful, liquid brown eyes and the Nanny-dog love of children; she's just a year old and is so amazingly laid back, at first I kept forgetting there was a new dog in the house! Her coat is soft as silk and her leash manners are really a dream! She never barks, not even when the doorbell rings which is great in some ways but we've always taught our dogs to bark when they want to come in, not scratch on the door! Not sure how we'll handle that one and keep the patio doors in a condition acceptable to the Landlord! 

~Conrad is enjoying walking duties~

 She's found her little niche!

I guess she'll let us know when Santa arrives this Christmas!

Although for me, it already feels like Christmas when I wake up in the morning, knowing she's here. She seems to have adjusted to the change very well. She's attached herself to me so I worry that my departure will be stressful to her so close to the loss of her last family. But she is so well known in the neighborhood that already a few neighbors have offered to help out with walking her while I am gone. Thank you in advance, Miss Beth! Wish you could help us out too, Aunt Linda!

I do feel badly that we won't be rescuing a real homeless dog here but this situation fit everyone involved so well, it was silly not to move forward with it. In exchange I will probably make a donation to the local Rescues. In the meantime Ginger is happily performing her job duties of making sure the Living Room floor and the Garden do not blow away. Yes, Sisters of mine, there is really and truly now a Chinese Dog living in my house!

Homeschooling a German Curriculum in China

I know! Could it be more complicated? (Actually some days it feels even more complicated than that!)

Some of you are familiar with our struggle as we have tried to find a solution to deal with the costs of the schools here. In most situations, families have their schooling paid for by their employer so their choices are a  bit less complicated. We have not had that luxury but the fact remains that it is time for Conrad to start Kindergarten. **Where did the last 5 1/2 years go??**

Interestingly, in our research into schools that we could consider, in January we learned that the German School is the cheapest of the International schools here in Shanghai. And it fits some of our most important criteria:

1. Having the children learn German finally realizes a long standing family goal which enables them to develop a connection to their Swiss family and heritage
2. It fits the budget (while it is still 5 times what we would be paying for Holy Cross in Indy, the sticker shock is nonetheless staggering!)

So with a huge sense of relief that we had a plan, we began the process of applying. The first step, (after filling out the application, of course) was to have Conrad sit for the language entrance exam. Yes, my five year old has already experienced a school entrance exam! Knowing that his ability was not high enough to meet the school's requirements (it is not a bi-lingual school), this Spring we found a number of formal lesson opportunities and eventually were lucky enough to engage the services of a wonderful young German lady named Rebecca, currently living in Shanghai and working as a tutor and AuPair. We worked until the end of the school year, putting off the entrance exam as long as we could, knowing that every hour Conrad spent with Rebecca would bring us closer to a successful outcome. We also knew putting it off had a potential price: the dreaded wait-list! Conrad sat for the exam at the end of June. At the end of the session the team that tested him acknowledged that he had made great progress since they first met him, but they have had to raise the standards of their exam as they are desperately trying to figure out how to accomodate the 150 applications received for the 50 spots that the Kindergarten provides. Ouch. Take a deep breath, try to focus forward. In a long discussion with the school about our options after the exam (of which I only caught about 25%, as my own German is not yet up to snuff for such matters) we decided on a course of action: with Rebecca's help we could homeschool Conrad in German until a space opens up. The catch is that with such a glut of applications (the number of German families in Shanghai is obviously rising!) it is a distinct possibility that spaces may not be available until the following year when there are then 100 spots for the First Grade. Regardless, with the support of the school regarding curriculum and some resources, we have chosen the homeschooling route.

I was very worried at first for Conrad because he had been so excited about the German School since we had first gone to visit it; how was I going to tell him now that he couldn't yet go? Again? There are 4 other children in our neighborhood who will be in his class and he has gotten to be friends with them this Spring. Will he feel horribly left out when they all go back to school? Again? But as often happens if you allow yourself not to worry about something too much (not worrying is something I am NOT good at) a reasonable solution will appear. Soon after the exam the topic arose one morning at the breakfast table. Actually it started out as an argument between Conrad and Vivi when he felt the need to point out that the German School was his, only his, not hers. It was as good a time as any to address the subject so I explained to him that right now there was so many kids that want to get in and there isn't enough space for everyone so he would start here with Rebecca, and as soon as there was space, he could join in at the school. Amazingly he thought about it for a moment and shook his head. "Okay. We can do that," he said. Naturally then I worried that he had felt the pressure enough at the exam, as much as we tried to shield him from it, and was now associating that environment with the School, eventually being relieved not to have to go back just yet.      ~It never ends as a parent, does it?~

Mid-summer: we have a plan and Conrad's on board with it! So now time to think more about the actual logisitcs of it all. Where will the "classroom" be? I went to the beloved Ikea, bought some small tables and chairs and we have set up a place in the loft upstairs. Once he saw it, he was very excited.

The "classroom"

We chose a date for the first day and Rebecca told me about the tradition in Germany of the "Schultüte", a practice that dates back over a 100 years. According to Wikipedia "When children in Germany and Austria set off for their first day in school upon entering first grade, their parents and Grandparents present them with a big cardboard cone, prettily decorated and filled with toys and chocolate, candies, school supplies and various other goodies. It is given to children to make this anxiously awaited first day of school a little bit sweeter." Rebecca helped me get ahold of one and I began to fill it up. Eventually the day arrived and Conrad, with Schultute in hand, finally, along with all of the other 5 year olds that I know, started "school".

 der Schüler (the student)

With Miss Rebecca and his other 'classmate'

The busy student at work

We further celebrated the day by inviting some of our neighborhood friends over in the afternoon for ice cream sandwhiches. Our American, Italian, Australian and German friends were able to join us.

It's anybody's guess what language they are speaking to each other!

Later in the day Conrad found another use for his Schultute. Hopefully he won't end up as the class dunce!

Our schedule is everyday from 8:30 to 1:30 and so far it seems to be going well. Rebecca is incredibly creative and he's very excited when she arrives in the morning. And he loves that facts that he a.) gets to sleep later than all of his friends who have to get up for the bus every morning and b.) finishes his day earlier than all of them and can play Legos for almost 2 hours before all of them get home! Life is good~

It has certainly not been an easy road here. I have spent so much of my life in China feeling like the Square Peg, as if we have had to reinvent the wheel in entirely too many situations that should otherwise require no problem solving at all, but I think it will all be alright in the end. When Conrad would occassionally push back  against the German lessons this Spring I tried to point out to him that it will be so exciting for him when he can double his number of friends once he can play with all of the German kids, too. Of all the languages spoken in our neighborhood, German comes in second only to English. He liked that idea and has taken it to heart. It is so exciting for me to see him run off in the afternoons with the gang of German boys that roam the neighborhood playing tag and water guns and bike races. And I am enjoying developing friendships with the Moms, and improving my German again finally as well. We have enough extracurriculars but not so many that I can be labeled a Tiger Mom, and I think we have finally found a balance to life here that can be good for all of us. Nearly 2 years in, but we're making it!

The weather is getting cooler, the days are getting shorter: it is truly fall here. I hope you are all well and have had an exciting start to your school year as well. We miss you and send all of our love and hugs~