Smart Growth

Living in this city is different from our home in Virginia in so many ways it is hard to even make the comparison. But one thing that we notice all the time is the energy efficiency of walking to school, riding the bus and living within walking distance of pretty much every thing we need. So I LOVE the Shekou version of a parking lot: This is actually only one small part of this covered bike lot...it goes on in the other direction for a LONG way! Dart also thinks that "green buildings" are the wave of the future:

Hard Life

There is no pool at the school, but just around the corner is a four star hotel with a really nice pool that you can buy a pass for. We think it is pretty nice. The part I like is that you can have a lovely person come right out to the poolside and give you a foot massage while the boys swim. Oh yeah....

Song Dynasty

The boys are really enjoying school! The whole 6th grade broke into four groups representing different dynasties. They had to come up with a flag, a cheer, a motto and interesting facts about their dynasties. These will be the groups in which they do intramural sports and other activities for the whole year.
Jaya was chosen to be the spokesperson for his group, the Song Dynasty, as they display their flag with a dragon and the Chinese character for "Song".
(I'll steal the camera from Dart and take some pictures of Taj's activities so I can update you on his fun stuff soon!)

Market Day

Up the road from us is an open air market that really boggles the mind. There is EVERY kind of meat that you can imagine (yes, there are dogs) and live animals, as you can see! Let's just say that you DON'T want to wear sandals or flip flops to this place.

There is also a veggie section to the market which is very nice...MANY types of vegetables, some of which I don't recognize. We mostly get our fruit from a stand by our apartment, and our ayi does a lot of our shopping, so we don't go often, but it is an adventure here.

Smitten!

Okay, as promised (or threatened) here is more information about the new kitten. We named him quicksilver in Mandarin, 'cuz he is gray and really zips around the place. The Chinese for this is:



水銀猫 -- which sounds like ShuiYinMao (quicksilver cat). Our nickname for him is "Chairman Meow".
I have never been much of a pet person, but I am totally taken with the little guy. He is hilarious -- pouncing on every little thing, curling up and purring in our laps, sleeping on the boys at night, and generally keeping us highly entertained.

The Chairman

I have not blogged in a couple of days because we have been so busy with the newest member of our family. We adopted him off the street and took him to the vet to get wormed and get shots and now we are COMPLETELY SMITTEN with our kitten.

I have to go to work but I will of course be bragging about him OFTEN so stay tuned!! He's meowing to be fed...

Confessions...

One of the most amazing things about living here is having an "ayi". This technically means "aunt" but it is used as a term of respect for older ladies or women that help around the house.

Ayis are hired by most teachers, and they are amazing. They cook, clean, do laundry,iron, shop, and take care of just about anything you need. It is mind boggling-- I come home tired after a day at school and this is what awaits us:

The laundry is done, the beds are made, the dishes are clean and put away and if the boys have come home early (or were at home all day on prep days) they are fed. I feel sorta guilty, but boy, I am getting over it REALLY quickly!

We feel especially lucky, because our friends Ron and Nicci who lived in Shekou for 3 years recommended their ayi, Yu Mei, and WE LOVE HER. She is so lovely with the boys, and is teaching them some Chinese. She is fabulously efficient and a good cook.

We will ALL have to work hard to not become completely SPOILED.