Hengsha Island, An October Staycation

Those of you who tuned in last year at this time may remember that the beginning of October is a very big holiday in China: the National Holiday, coinciding with the Mid-Autumn/Harvest Festival. (Mooncakes anyone?) Typically businesses shut down for at least a few days around the 1st of October. Heinz took the "Golden" week off. For many, it's similar to a Spring Break in the Fall: elaborate travel plans are made around the kids' school vacations. For us, since I had returned from the States at the beginning of the holiday, it was an opportunity to relax and take it easy. (And battle my jet-lag!!)

Earlier this spring the local Swiss Club sponsored a cycling trip to a nearby island where the Yangzi meets the South China Sea. Their brochure read as follows:
"Hengsha island is the smallest of the three islands at the mouth of the Yangzi. Apart from a military base and a couple farms it doesn't have much else on it. There is not a single factory on the whole island. Granted it's not that big, yes, but it's nice. Swiss people know that a place isn't measured by size of the area. And since the military runs the show the whole island is kept like a public park. Seriously it looks like one big garden! Hengsha Island has been called the least polluted place in Shanghai. I think that's true." 
We missed that event, I can't remember why but we were intrigued by the description and have been wanting to check it out ever since. So one day during the "Golden Week" we loaded the kids' bikes in the car and headed out.  After about a 25 minute ride in the car, we reached the coast and took a tunnel from the mainland to Changxing Island and then a ferry to HengshaXiang (Hengsha Island).
On the Ferry to the Hengsha.

There is a resort (I use the phrase loosely) on the northeast coast of the island, Angel Bay Vacationland, billed as the ideal getaway, offering clean air, private cottages and a few extracurricular activities so we headed there and rented bikes for Heinz and I. 

I know riding a bike does not come naturally to everyone but, really, who needs this instruction?? (And why does it have so many characters in Chinese?)

Riding down the main street of the "resort"

 Angel Bay Vacationland, as seen from across the lagoon.

Riding next to the "golf aquatic exercise court", basically a driving range into the lagoon. Bet that's great for the local marine life!

We stopped beside the go-kart track to eat our lunch.

Then Daddy and Conrad went for a ride. 

Vivi got in on the action too! Girls can do!

Is that the Little Old Lady from Pasedena who can barely see over the steering wheel?

 The island is mostly made up of peanut and orange farms. We rode down a few lanes between the groves. 

The houses line up in long blocks along the roads with the farmland stretching out behind.

There is an elevated sea wall that seems to ring the island and it makes a nice bike path. Here we are riding out to the seawall.

Passing backyard farms on the way out to the seawall.
    
My intrepid little adventurer. I know I'm biased but...isn't she cute? Pretty good on her two wheels at 3 1/2!

A view from the seawall.

Looking back to the island

On the seawall

The view out to sea. I wonder what the nets are for.

Along the way we passed an old WWII bunker.

And then we passed this thing. I saw the food at first, realized it was an ancestral offering of some kind but on our return trip, from a different angle I realized that the black charred thing next to it resembled a body. (At least I hope it only "resembled" a body!) It totally creeped me out!

 I mean, really, could it be any creepier??

Conrad and Vivi went for a pony ride.

The farm nextdoor to the riding stable.

Goodbye Ferry, thank you for giving us a ride today!

Two tired adventurers after a lovely day on the island~

It took us about an hour to get home from the ferry, but other travelers in China were not quite so fortunate during the holiday. Taken from zerohedge.com: 

"This one is for the the no good Keynesian deed goes unpunished files. As part of its 8 day Golden Week celebration, China's central planners decided to do a good thing for the people and remove all tolls from expressways. That was the populist explanation. The fundamental one was that this act would somehow spur the economy. Alas, while the same people may have saved some transit money in the process, what they did not save was on transit times. As South China Morning Post reports, millions were promptly stuck in traffic jams as a result of the politburo's generosity."

Thankfully our drive home did not look like this:

First of all the Chinese love free stuff but for some, the free tolls meant saving as much as 300-400 Yuan, or about 50-65 USD on their holiday travel. And the traffic jams are only part of it. The crowding at all forms of tourist sites during the major holidays in China has gotten so bad that I feel the need to dedicate an entire blog just to that! Stay tuned for the next installment...

Happy Golden Week to you all~

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~

August 1st - a Swiss Celebration

Please allow me to introduce to you two of Switzerland's newest citizens:

I promise you, they are happier about it than they look in this photo!
As this year was a little extra special (we received word of Vivi's paperwork being completed just last week) we decided to have a little party to celebrate Switzerland's Indpendence Day, August 1st. In the past we have always been so fortunate to participate in the awesome activities hosted by the Swiss Club of Central Indiana, but this year we were on our own.

The history of Swiss Independence dates back to the Federal Charter of 1291. This year Switzerland is 721 years old! Happy Birthday Confoederatio Helvetica!

We started the day in our Switzerland shirts, waving our flags, having breakfast with Daddy. Then he had to go to work-seems silly that SwissLog China doesn't observe the most important Swiss holiday with a day off for its local employees! We passed some time playing the iPad apps "Name the Canton Flags" (I don't mean to brag but Mommy can score 26 of 26 in less than 1:00!) and "Coin-Rolling", in which players try to keep a five franc coin rolling around an earthenware bowl, which eventually resonates with a continuous humming tone. Then it was on to the main attraction: the water sports! (The Swiss are known for their water sports, right?) Seemingly unrelated, we recently participated in a focus group for one of the pool makers here in China, Bestway, which makes most of the inflatable pools sold in the States and as a result got a free backyard paddling pool! Perfect for the festivities! But filling it up was quite a challenge. Our hose attachment is quite, er, Chinese so when turned on strong enough to get the water out the other end, 70% of the water was shooting straight up into the air. Time to do my MacGyver act!

A dishtowel on the faucet to funnel the offshoot, a few buckets to make a brigade, two goofball children and we're on our way! Problem solved; the pool was full in 20 minutes instead of 2 hours! 

Which left me just enough time to finish decorating and setting the table with all of the snacks.

The guest list was quite varied: our German AuPair, a British family, an Australian family and a friend from New Zealand. Sadly the invited French and Chinese families were unable to join us. A few of the kids colored the flags we made for them but mostly they all just ran around the backyard and shot each other with water guns! We had a wonderful time with wurstsalat and cheeses for lunch and ice cream sandwiches for dessert.

Unfortunately, as always happens when I play hostess, I pretty much forgot the camera duties so much of the festivities remain undocumented. Maybe next year some of you can join us, when I hopefully celebrate my own (dual) citizenship. First I have to pass that background check...

Happy First of August to you all~

Ode to a Friend

Rest gently, my sweet boy. You were a brave soul, Barney. You are greatly missed.

Last November we discovered an ominous growth in Barney's mouth. We had it removed and, sure enough, the biopsy (by a German testing company, if that matters) determined it was cancer, a particularly agressive canine type. So the clock started ticking. And the realization that he would not make that 14 hour journey back to the States with us again settled in. 

At that time I happened to be reading "Peony In Love" by Lisa See. In it the main character spends about 2/3 of the book as a ghost. Although this was not my first exposure to the beliefs of the Chinese regarding death, it was one of the most comprehensive. Many Chinese believe that there are 3 levels of afterlife that the soul must travel and basically the success of your journey is directly related to the actions of your surviviors after you pass on. Kinda frustrating, huh? Without their help you cannot continue to the next level. You may have seen stories or pictures of Chinese burning "money", "clothing" and "food" during memorial and funeral services. This is because they believe that the soul needs all of these things to live in the next life, as in the current one, but can only obtain these things through ancestor worship. (Lately there have been stories of people burning effigies of iPads and iPhones!)

Through the inattentiveness of Peony's parents (not due to their grief I might add), her funeral rites are not performed correctly and she is doomed to forever inhabit the wasteland of the first afterlife. Her description of the world in which she now lives is incredibly bleak and hopeless: her clothing is in tatters, she is starving and her loved ones don't seem to remember her at all. As she describes this miserable existence, numerous times she mentions the mongrel dogs also cursed to languish forever in the first realm, starving, mangy strays sleeping in the cold. Unloved, just like her.

There is never an explanation why the dogs are this way in this Chinese version of what happens after, but it stuck with me. If we live in China now, are we subjected to their beliefs regarding what comes next? We will not live here forever but if Barney passes away here, what happens to him when we leave? Will he become a mongrel stray, starving and freezing in the next life? I never had to worry about these things in Indiana. I could leave him "behind" if we were in Australia or Switzerland. I can't leave him behind in China!

The good news is that we shared 8 more months with him after the initial diagnosis. Sweet fuzzy face. And when the end came it was fast and without question that the time had come. It was a sad, but not an agonizing decision. For this I am grateful. I am also grateful that we will be able to have him cremated so when we do leave China he can come with us. Maybe he will be returned to his yard in Indianapolis. Maybe we will have to find another permanent solution. All that matters to me is he will not be left behind. 

Godspeed my friend. I hope you stay well-fed and warm on your next journey. You started out as a stray but you are well-loved in this life~