Touring China: #2 Temple of Heaven

One weekend in early spring we had perfect weather, finally.  The sky was a brilliant blue, the pollution was down to manageable levels, and the temperature was ideal.  So, we joined some new friends and ventured out to visit one of Beijing's most iconic destinations:  Temple of Heaven.

The Temple of Heaven, completed in 1420, is easily one of the most recognizable landmarks in all of China.  This three gabled building is commonly referred at the temple of heaven, but is in fact the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests and one of three main structures that collectively make up the Temple of Heaven.

We took this photo atop the Circular Mound Alter, one of the three structures in the temple complex, and in the foreground you can see the roof of the third, the Imperial Vault of Heaven.

Here is an example of the interior design that dominates the buildings in the Temple of Heaven complex.

This the Nine-Dragon Juniper.  The name comes from the fact that people believe the trunk looks like nine dragons coiling around each other as the climb their way to heaven.  OK.  Dragon motif or not, this tree is over 500 years old.

A rare moment when Claire was left alone by the throngs of tourists.  Luckily for us, on this particular outing the friends we went with have much blonder children than we and they, unfortunately, bore the brunt of the unwanted attention
thrust upon the children. 

Amazingly, these structure are made entirely without nails.  Not a single one.  They are an engineering marvel and the complex has been designated a
UNESCO World Heritage site.

The grounds were massive and beautiful.  We saw families picniking and resting and playing.  It almost felt like being in Hyde or Central Park.  Almost.

Any time the weather is even remotely fine in Beijing you will find kites flying.  These kites are massive and often have lights.  Kite flyers wear special harnesses to keep a tight grip on these enormous flying contraptions.

We had a great visit to the Temple of Heaven and can't wait to go back 

to do some more exploring.

'Tis the Season for...EXAMS!!!

Caleb and Isaac go to a really fabulous private school here in Beijing.  It is a bilingual school where their instruction is about 60% English and 40% Chinese.  They both really love their teachers and have made some great friends.  They are thriving in the classroom and learning a tremendous amount.  We loved our DC Bilingual Charter School when were back in the States, but the atmosphere here is a lot more competitive and they have endless resources to enhance learning.  It is wonderful.  They both take mandatory violin lessons and there is a very robust arts program.  They have lots of time for unstructured play in addition to actual PE classes.  I have to admit, I'm a little jealous.  The blessing of attending such a school is a great benefit of Kenny's job.  No matter where we live, they will always go to amazing schools, with an international student body, dedicated teachers, and involved (sometimes overly - though I tend to believe any is better than nothing) parents.

Isaac was so excited to finally go to the "big boy" school.

I love that they wear uniforms.  It makes my life SO MUCH easier.

The only real challenge we have encountered as we moved from our old school in DC to this new school in China, has been the introduction of Chinese.  Caleb is bilingual.  He learned to speak English and Spanish simultaneously.  And, while his English is better than his Spanish, mostly because he seldom is called upon to use Spanish, it is still quite good and he has no accent whatsoever.  For all intents and purposes, he has never "learned" a language.  One of the first things he said to us after we arrived was, "but, I already speak two languages, isn't that enough?"  He makes a good point, especially considering he is 7.  Additionally, he is used to being the best in his class at everything with very little effort.  

Things have equalized a lot at this school and though he is still doing very well, there are other children who are doing equally well, and in some cases a little bit better.  Especially when it comes to Chinese.  He has struggled.  He has been frustrated and angry and defeatist.  His biggest problem is that he knows what he doesn't know.  He knows that he cannot use Chinese like he speaks, reads, and writes Spanish.  And, he is constantly comparing his abilities in Mandarin to his facility with Spanish.  But, he is persevering and his Chinese is improving.  We have a tutor (I KNOW!) for him and his English teacher helps translate sometimes when he is really lost.  And slowly, this language is starting to come alive for him.  Chinese is challenging, heaven knows I am aware of that.  My Chinese is pitiful.  But, we are so proud of him for not giving up.  

This week the boys have exams in their Chinese classes.  For Caleb it is a week long process with the children tackling one aspect of their language study every day.  Isaac's version of exams is abbreviated and only requires one day to complete.  But, THEY HAVE EXAMS!!  My Kindergartner and 2nd grader have been studying every night for these exams.  They are creating sample dialogues.  Memorizing songs and stories.  Practicing writing characters.  Answering sample questions.  Writing paragraphs wholly with characters.  It is astonishing!

I have always been amazed at how babies learn multiple languages effortlessly in infancy -- I have watched all three of mine do it.  But, observing my boys go from no Chinese to conversational Chinese to singing in Chinese, to, in Caleb's case, mastering enough characters to write a story in Chinese is just incredible.  We have told them all they need to do this week is their very best.  We have tried not to over drill or burn them out on study -- there is plenty of time for that later on.  We have prayed with them and encouraged them and we are confident they are going to do very well.  But, we were not ready for this kind of pressure and we know it is just the beginning.  We know other children in their classes are being put through their paces for these tests.  We know other parents would scoff at our seemingly cavalier approach.  But, we don't want them to get discouraged, and especially for Caleb, give up.  One of the primary reasons we moved to Beijing was so the children would learn Mandarin.  So far, we have been successful in working towards that objective and we'd like to keep it that way.  

School's Out for Summer

The boys had summer camp for several weeks this summer.  It was a great camp hosted and run by the American Employees Association at the US Embassy, but open to anyone.  They made lots of new friends, went on field trips, worked on crafts, played outside, and just generally enjoyed themselves.  

Each week of camp had a theme and by far everyone's favorite week was the Dr. Seuss week.  Every day required them to dress-up in one way or another.  Funny hat and crazy sock day were easy  -- there is no shortage of patterned socks and inexplicable head wear available in this country.  On the other hand, crazy hair day and, especially, dress up like a Dr. Seuss character day were a little more challenging.  But, motherhood is the mother of invention so after hours (and hours and hours -- Beijing has everything, but the trick is finding it!) of shopping and a veritable vat of hair gel, we were all pretty happy with the end results.

A Beijing 4th

For the 4th of July we were lucky enough to enjoy a good, old-fashioned BBQ at the US Embassy (hence, no pictures).  We dressed in our red, white, and blue duds and stuffed ourselves with burgers, corn on the cob, and watermelon.  Caleb even won the under 18 watermelon eating contest, we were so proud.  We ended the night with our very own fireworks show and managed to bring a little slice of America to Beijing.

Look at their hands, d'you think they're related?

Bookworm

If you know us, you know that we have a lot of children's book.  A LOT.  In fact, at last count, we had just over 900.  It's a sickness, really.  But, we love books and we want our children to love books.  So, we read to the kids every night and encourage them to read on their own.  We surround them on every side with books on every conceivable topic.  We buys books for birthdays and Christmas and just because and hope our passion rubs off on them. 

Before we moved to China I was in purge mode.  I donated, gave away, trashed, sold, and destroyed as much as I could possibly justify.  We only have so many pounds allotted when we move overseas and I wanted to take only what was absolutely necessary.  Period.  That said, we NEVER move without our children's books.  There isn't much point putting them in storage and though I could probably get rid of some if pressed, Kenny would be heartbroken.  But, this time around, in favor of filling as many pounds as possible with consumables,  I contemplated getting rid of our board books.  Kenny scoffed at my suggestion and pronounced me crazy.  He declared we weren't ready to divest ourselves 

of this much loved collection.  He insisted they still had more joy to give and more love to receive.

He...was...right...

...so, very, very right.

For Them

When I was a child, my life was perfect.  Well, almost.  There were the usual hiccups, as there are in any journey of becoming.  There were failed attempts and glorious victories.  There was homework and chores and pouting and punishment.  Years removed from those memories there are endless echoes and images of laughing and fighting and singing (a very great deal of singing) and crying and historical monuments and endless hours in the car and first and last days of school and recitals and all the necessary moments that make up the beginning of a life.  And in the midst of all the chaos and catastrophe and triumph there are two faces that remain constant and unchanging.  My parents.

My parents are not perfect.  But, they are great parents.  They were and continue to be invested in me and my siblings.  They made endless sacrifices for us.  They put their dreams and goals on hold so we could realize ours.  They fought for us and cried with us and they were always there.  My childhood overflows with memories of my parents because they were present.  Their presence dulls the painful memories and sharpens the pretty ones and makes my childhood seem perfect.  It didn't always go perfectly, but I know I was loved.  I felt loved and important and wanted and all the extras - the experiences, the stuff, the tangibles - would mean nothing if I hadn't.

I have been a parent now for nearly 8 years.  I love my children beyond description.  They amaze, challenge, mystify, and surprise me every single day.  They are funny and silly and smart and talented.  And we are the center of their world.  We are the constant in their lives.  We have thrust them into the universe of the expatriate without their permission or their input.  We made the decision to embrace this lifestyle long before they were on the Christmas card.  Even now, after they have swelled our ranks, we make plans every day that include them despite not really involving them in the decisions.  We consider their needs and their happiness.  We are always thinking prospectively and doing the math so hopefully no one will have to move their junior year of high school or get shortchanged or overlooked.  We pack their bags and take their pictures and save their ticket stubs and art work and birthday cards and shove everything into suitcases and shipping crates and overhead compartments and we do it over and over and over again.  And they acquiesce.  Because we're the parents and we know what we're doing.

And, what are we doing?  I hope we are introducing them to the joy of living.  I hope we are teaching them that the world is a magical place.  That whatever is beyond the horizon is worth seeking.  That life is about living, not marking time or waiting for whatever is supposed to happen next.  That learning languages is a worthwhile pursuit and making new friends an invaluable skill.  That sacrifice brings happiness.  That family is the most important treasure you will ever possess and home is wherever we are.  I hope we are teaching them to be resilient and strong and brave and compassionate.  I hope they are learning to find purpose in everything and to savor each moment of their journey.

I want to give them the gift of a "perfect" past.  I hope they will look back on their childhoods, many years removed, and think their lives were perfect.  I hope we will dominate their memories and they will remember that we were present, always.  Because we are trying to be just that.  We are trying to be for them what our parents were for us.  We are trying to ensure they feel loved and wanted and important, because they are.  I hope, above all else, they will know that we did what we did, we do what we do, even when it is more imperfect than perfect, for our family, for us, for them.

Valentine's Day 2013 in Beijing

Touring China: #1 - The Lama Temple

Our very first tourist outing in Beijing, was to the Lama Temple.  It was COOOLLLD that day, but we persevered.  We know we are going to be in Beijing for several years, and the list of must-see sites isn't all that long (at least my list isn't), but the weather, pollution, and crowds are major deterrents to venturing out.  Consequently, our touristing in Beijing has thus far been fairly limited.  But, we are coming to terms with the reality of living in a city of 24 million people and recognize that if we wait for an ideal day, we'll never see anything.

The Lama Temple has been a lamasery (monastery for lamas - Tibetan Monks) since the mid-1700s and there are still monks living and working there today.

At the entrance to the temple there were dozens of vendors selling incense.  People bought it in massive quantities and then brought it inside to light and pray.

  

The temple was originally built as a royal residence so the architecture is much grander than the average lamasery or temple.

So many offerings -- it was a veritable bonfire.

In Chinese architecture, yellow is the Imperial color.  Accordingly, most of the roof tiles at the lamasery are yellow signifying that the emperor once lived there.

The buildings were all this detailed.  So intricate and so beautiful.

One of the many, many buddhas we saw on this visit.

This is the largest building in the lamasery complex.  It is also the most important as evidenced by the  number of figures adorning the corners of the roof.  There are seven out of a maximum nine, indicating that the duties performed inside this building are very special.

Another buddha.  This one is 85 feet tall and carved from a single tree.

The temple is symmetrical and each subsequent courtyard provided more opportunities for burning incense.

The lamasery covers 16 acres with its buildings and grounds.  We saw most of it before the cold became unbearable.  It is a beautiful complex and stunningly preserved.  Luckily, it was saved during the Cultural Revolution for future generations to enjoy.

Family Pictures 2013

Claire was mostly uncooperative for our photo shoot this year, but we did manage a few decent shots.  
Here is a sampling:

My kid can sleep anywhere

When we first moved to China every time I walked outside I wished I had a camera.  Everywhere we went something "blogworthy" was happening.  There was the guy in the alley walking his monkey.  The little children with split pants doing their business, well, anywhere the spirit moved them.  The restaurant around the corner that serves some of the best noodles I have ever tasted, despite the tree growing out of the middle of the building.  The dumpling shop that sells them 10 for $.85.   The fruit and vegetable sellers that stock every kind of produce imaginable.  The butchers that sell every part of every animal, most of which I prefer not to imagine.  The old men walking around with their shirts pulled up above their bellies when the temperature climbs.  And on and on and on.  But, my camera is huge.  It has all sorts of bells and whistles, most of which I don't even begin to know how to use, and it weighs a ton.  It takes great pictures, but hauling it with me for errands is just not practical.  But, I have a mental list of things I want pictures of before we leave and slowly I am crossing these items off my list.  Here is one such image I collected just last week:

It's hard to see, but if you look closely at the crib in what is, in fact, a sample bedroom in a corner of an IKEA showroom, you will see a small child under the covers, sound asleep.  At IKEA in Beijing, this behavior is unremarkable.  Every time I go to IKEA I see people sitting on couches and chairs, watching the TVs that play IKEA product advertisements on loops.  Families sit at the sample dinner tables eating their lunches.  Many of the beds are occupied with lounging and often sleeping adults and children.  And those that aren't occupied sport mussed bed clothes.  In fact, I have yet to see a made bed in the Beijing IKEA showroom.

This is really one of the stranger things I have ever encountered while living here, but apparently that is only the case for me and other expats.  For the locals it is completely normal behavior.  No other customers seem troubled or bothered.  The staff work around these people who have quite literally made themselves at home.  Even I  found myself tiptoeing out of the bedroom after realizing that the child was asleep.  But, luckily, I happened to have my camera with me, so I crept around the corner and shot a photo.  And, voila, an excellent and highly blogworthy example of the unpredictability that comes with living in China.

Like the Phoenix...

Once upon a time I was a regular (okay, semi-regular) blogger.  But, then, we moved to China.  And, our entry was not the smoothest it could have been.  It took much longer for our things to arrive than anticipated and if you have ever lived out of suitcases (even 10 extra large suitcases) for any length of time you know the inherent challenges this presents.  There was also the inevitable "teaching your body to function like its normal self" phase that we have experienced with each move.  That phase took longer than it has in the past as we coped with all of the sites, smells, and tastes we were newly thrust into.  Claire in particular struggled with the change and her adjustment period was difficult and protracted.  But, a couple of months ago, she seemed to settle in and now she is thriving and happy and speaking Chinglish with gusto.  In fact, a couple of months ago, we are sort of crossed over the hump from newly arrived and feeling discombobulated all of the time, to thinking of ourselves as Beijingers

But, coming to terms with life in China has not been the biggest impediment to blogging.  Usually, a move like this has provided lots of fodder for posts and I have used my blog as a coping mechanism for dealing with all the newness of our latest move.  But, China is special.  Life in China is hard in ways that I know no other country we will ever live in will be.  And then, on top of everything else, there is the Great Firewall of China.  I run headlong into it on a daily, sometimes multiple times a day, basis.  We have all the usual technology everyone advises you have to minimize and mitigate these run-ins.  But, we are still at the mercy of a very powerful, controlling, and often unforgiving system.  And, when just checking my email can take 4x as long as it used to,  regular (or even semi-regular) blogging loomed as a monumental undertaking.  So, I stopped, as you may have noticed.

I have felt a little guilty for this extended lapse.  I mean, we live in China, after all.  Our daily lives are nothing like our "regular" lives.  Although, at this point in our journey,  what we consider to be "regular," for the vast majority of my friends and family is anything but.  And, my children are growing and having extraordinary experiences that go virtually undocumented.  Claire especially has changed dramatically since we arrived, though I much prefer not to remember the weeks and weeks of fretting we all did over her seeming failure to thrive.  But, I ignored the guilt, quite successfully.

Then, last week, I designed and ordered this year's Christmas cards.  And, as I have done every year for the last seven, below our signature I put the address of our/my blog.  Suddenly, I was engulfed by regret.  This has been an important year in all our lives and I have essentially ignored it.  We have lived every moment deliberately this past year, but the children are young enough they won't remember what has transpired without some external promptings and I have neglected providing those.  And, as happy as we are here, everything is not perfect and sometimes I need to be reminded that I can do hard things.

So...here I am.  At the beginning of the end of 2013 and I have promised myself that I am going to blog every day this month.  I am going to sift through the photos and remembrances and mementos of the past year and share them, or at least 31 of them, for now and for posterity.  I may regret this decision, considering the inevitable Internet battles the will ensue.  But, here goes nothing...

One of our very first outings in Beijing was to Fundazzle.  A magical place that used to be an Olympic sized swimming pool (you can still see the diving platforms above the deep end) that has since been turned into an indoor play area for children.  The boys thought they had died and gone to heaven and declared they would be celebrating every birthday in China there.  We'll see about that.

 

More Easter

We participated in three Easter egg hunts, but I have no pictures from two of them and no pictures of the boys from any of them.  In my defense, one of them was at the US Embassy and cameras were not allowed.  But, for the other two, my only defense is that with three kids there just isn't a hand leftover to hold the camera, and they were indoors anyway so the light was not great.  I do, however, want a picture of Claire in her Easter dress finding an Easter egg, so we may stage that later this week IF the sun comes out and IF the pollution index falls to a reasonable level.  In Beijing these days those are both very BIG "IFS."

 Some of our new friends in Beijing invited us over for a delicious, potluck Easter feast.  The food was truly scrumptious and included all our favorite Easter dishes.  Then we went outside and crushed confetti eggs.

 We have never had confetti eggs before, but the kids really enjoyed them so we may have to adopt a new tradition.

 These eggs were extra sturdy so there was quite a bit of head bonking before they were all finally cracked.

Kenny's Easter present.  So far we've only acquired the Easter ornaments, but I have a feeling that won't be the case for long.

Claire makes us all smile.

My favorite photo of the day.

Happy Easter!

No, this is not an April Fool's Day joke, this is an actual blog post, 

at long last from deep behind the Great Firewall of China.

With any luck this will be the first of many posts to come as I try to catch our hopefully still thriving small and mighty band of faithful readers 

up on our latest ramblings.  

We are now in China and have been for 2 whole months!  We are so very happy to be here and compared with our last overseas adventure, couldn't be more pleased with our quality of life in this new and completely foreign place.  Although, having grown up in Hawaii where Asian influences were everywhere, I have found that in many ways China, or at least Beijing, is not as foreign to me as I thought it would be.  Apart from the language, which is painfully non-existent for me, the combination of growing up around many things from this part of the world and our previous experience with living in the developing world has made this transition surprisingly easy.  But, there is lots of time to go into all of that.  

On to Easter.  We celebrated with all our usual traditions this year, despite the fact that one of us (ahem, guilty!) sent the Easter eggs by slow boat (they are still somewhere in the Pacific) instead of on the airplane.  However, after a valiant search I did find the only place in this entire country where plastic eggs can be bought and the problem was rectified.  The search was arduous indeed, 

particularly in light of the fact that all the eggs we've ever had have probably all been made right here in China.

I also forget the egg dye kits that I very deliberately bought on sale last Easter, but luckily Grandma stepped in and saved the day sending not just an egg dyeing kit, but loads of candy, Easter presents and some fun things to fill the Easter baskets that I did manage to remember.  Most importantly, the Easter clothes were packed in the suitcase so we all managed to look our best for Easter Sunday.

Ready to dye 

Claire helped too 

The fruit of their labors 

 Hunting for eggs

Enjoying the loot 

Happy Easter!

What a difference a year makes

Our beautiful Claire is 1 today, 

can you believe it?

 

January 9, 2012

January 9, 2013

Happy Birthday, baby girl.  

We love you to the moon and back.

Marathon Man

Kenny ran a marathon yesterday.  Yeah, I'm impressed too. It's not on my bucket list, but it's on his and now it's crossed off forever.   

 He is already talking about the possibility of running future marathons (Beijing has one in the spring and the fall), 

but I think he'll spend some time recovering before he actually signs up to run another one.

  He did pretty well for his first, and maybe only, time and we're all very proud of him!

Yea, marathon man!