Since I last blogged we've had our first trips to the doctor here in Suzhou. Mark was motivated to go after suffering from a horrible cold for almost 4 weeks. 3 days later I took Abby in and it turned out that she had strep throat. So she was on antibiotics and missed 3 days of school. James suffered a bad cold but not until the end of the week and was able to recuperate over the weekend. Everyone is feeling better now. I feel really good about the doctor at the expat clinic. He was professional and seems to know his stuff. Not to mention very good with children but not over the top.
On January 14th Mark and I attended the staff Chinese New Year Party. We were told that the food served would be "traditional Chinese delicacies" so we arranged for James and Abigail to stay with some friends. The night was very festive. The Chinese staff performed a few songs and there were a lot of door prizes. No one at our table won anything which was kind of a bummer. In all fairness though, the prizes were tupperware, a pressure cooker, and a soy milk processor so it wasn't too heartbraking. Dinner was pretty good. We heard from some other teachers that this year was much better than the past. Dinner was served on a turn table so you could just select whatever you were brave enough to try. Mark had to take some pictures.
I didn't try the chicken but I did have some of the soup. Just the broth though and it was pretty good. We all had a good time.
So this is the year of the Ox. James and my Dad's year...not sure if there is anyone else I know of or what exactly it means if it is "your year". James made this in Chinese class, I thought it was really neat so it is my first Chinese New Year decoration for the apartment.
It's funny because you hear westerners saying that it is the year of the cow instead of the ox just like last year everyone said it was the year of the mouse instead of the rat. I guess because it sounds cuter, but I get a kick out of it.SSIS was all decorated this week and some local vendors set up tables with Chinese art, toys and candy. There were dragons intricatly woven from banana leaves that were really neat. This is the view from the third floor (where my classroom is).
Well I guess I should say my former classroom. I had my last day covering as an english teacher yesterday. Three months has flown by and I really enjoyed it. The high school principal stopped by my homeroom yesterday afternoon and gave me this bouquet of flowers which I thought was really nice.
Anyway, onward and upward (or whatever it is my dad says). Our plans to go to Malaysia fell through (although we will get there eventually). We are spending the first week of our break in Suzhou. We have made plans to visit a couple of gardens here with some other families and the kids want to play with their friends. Tomorrow the plan is to locate the Toys R Us and burger king we have heard rumors of but never actually seen. A week from Sunday we are flying to Hong Kong and will stay for 5 days. We plan on seeing some temples, taking the ferry to the island of Macau and of course doing Hong Kong Disneyland! I have, true to form, already written out our itinerary for all 5 days. So most likely I will blog again before we leave. When we heard a storm was going to hit and were informed that most places close for chinese new year and it can be hard to find groceries we stocked up. So we are resting and staying warm with some new dvds and games for the wii. I am off to make dinner for the family (including my 11 year old who seems to ask for a snack every 20 minutes!) The kids got their report cards yesterday and I am proud to say they are both doing very well.
Lots of love from Suzhou..........and Happy Anniversary Trudie and David, we wish you lots of love and happiness in coming years.
