Ni hao!! I know it's been a
while! But here we are, almost to the end of September already!! Today
is the Mid-Autumn Moon Festival, Zhōngqiū Jié (中秋節, 中秋节), a Chinese
National Holiday, which means we have today and tomorrow off from
school.
We
have been in China now for 57 days, which is REALLY hard to believe. It
is comforting to think back on all the things that were SO HARD are now
easier...We have become quite good at getting around on the subway. As
long as I have my trusty 'ole map, we can get anywhere using the subway.
We know where the markets are to buy the things we like, mostly meaning
'the things Lucas will eat.' Sadly though, the pancake mix selection
has dwindled to just these boxes that make about 10 pancakes and cost
about $10. At the beginning, they had the bags of bisquick, they were
small, but it lasted much longer...I fear the day I walk in and there is
NO pancake mix.
We
have had really busy weeks at school. Lucas is learning some Chinese,
and though he says he doesn't remember it when we get home, he is
learning to speak and read it daily in Chinese class. He is at the top
of his class academically, they are working on letter names and sounds
and he is ready to read, so his teacher now is focusing him on getting
along with his peers. His class has 16 kids, which is MANY more than he
has ever been with on a regular basis. I also signed him up for Reading
Eggs (thanks Kelly!!) and he has been LOVING it! He is sounding out
words and reading short sentences. I have always worked with him with
math at home, and though we read a lot, we honestly hadn't done much
with reading. Now though, he is doing his reading on the computer and I
have been having him read some phonics
books with me. In my class, my students just finished up planning the
assembly last week. It went amazing! I was so proud of them!! It was
recorded and I got it put up on our blog if you want to take a look.
Lucas' teacher also posts pictures and a post weekly if you want to
check them out:
My class blog: blogs.biss.com.cn/ajentzen
Lucas' class blog: blogs.biss.com.cn/rbaskevica
Last
weekend we were honorary Australians. Scott, one of the other newbies
and dad to Monty, Lucas' preK friend, invited us to go along with them
to an Australian party that their embassy was putting on. As it turned
out, there were 6 other staff members there, we have a large Australian
staff pop. at school. It was a gorgeous day. The kids ran around in the
large field and jumped in the bouncy house all day, coming back only for
drinks and food. We adults sat around with our own drinks, chatting and
watching cricket (I dont get that game at all). It was a great day of
relaxed fun!!
We
did not plan a trip anywhere for this vacation. We decided to do some
things around Beijing during our 4 days off. This morning we went to the
Panjiayuan Antique Market and checked it out. There were rows and rows
of people selling things, a lot of beads and old (in some cases ancient)
chinese artifacts. Lucas kept finding the swords and daggers. He
innocently asked why I kept saying that he could not have one "look Mom,
they are not even sharp, see?" When I pulled it out of the sheath to
show him the actual sword he was surprised and even more excited about the "real sword." We were there for a couple hours, had some salad and ice cream and came home so little monkey could nap.
After
he gets up, we will be going to the Lugou Bridge (Marco Polo Bridge) to
celebrate the Moon Festival. There is a little town, Wanping Town near
the bridge that has a temple fair each year to celebrate the Mid-Autumn
Festival. The temple fair is a
kind of traditional cultural event, which features all kinds of Chinese
folk art. The Moon Festival itself is a family tradition, where you get
together with your family to give thanks and ask for good fortune,
health and harvests to the moon goddess. Moon Gazing is very common and a
traditional part of the festival because the Chinese thought that moon
and water brought rejuvenation to the body. There are two ways to watch
the moon, both observed during the festival...in the sky and in the
water. It is also a time to think of loved ones who cannot be with you.
When you are away from family, or they cannot make it home, you gaze at
the moon to think of and remember them. A popular traditional treat is
the Moon Cake. During this time, moon cakes are HOT commodities!! they
are on sale EVERYWHERE, in fancy boxes, bags, and tins. They are a
pastry that is filled with different fruit mixes, nuts, and jellies.
Some are even chocolate and they are all delicious!! During the
festival, it is common to eat them while watching
the moon. Families also eat much fruit together at this time. Anyways,
the Marco Polo Bridge is also pretty amazing from what I read. It was
built in 1192 is made of Granite stone and holds 485 stone carved lions.
It looks spectacular!
(http://www.chinapage.com/history/lugouqiao/lugouqiao.html)
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