Sing Dancing in Shanghai

Ok so I got to go swing dancing in Shanghai. Swing group is small, but very nice. It's so nice to meet swing dancers from around the world.

Funny story: The night I flew into Shanghai, I was texting Bonny. I thought it was her, but it turned out I was texting the wrong number. It was someone who lived in Shanghai and spoke English and at first I thought it was Bonny, but then they told me they'd see me on Saturday, and I freaked out, because I thought I was staying with Bonny. But thankfully Bonny was there at the airport. This other person then realized I thought I was staying with her and got concerned. It turned out that she thought she would see me at this swing event. This other person turned out to be the contact person for Swing events in Shanghai and I did get to meet her at the swing event. It was just so funny how I was texting this strange person who I didn't know, but now I know and she is my friend.:)

So after Bonny and I visited QiBao in the morning we changed into cooler dresses took a little motorbike rickshaw to the subway and walked around People's Square and had lunch on a rooftop restaurant called Kathleen's 5, which is in this old beautiful art deco building. It's also the Shanghai Art Museum.

Then we went to the swing event, which was in this quant neighborhood. Before swinging we walked around the narrow streets and shopped.

Shanghai Baby

Over May holiday in China I visited my friend Bonny in Shanghai. I know Bonny from playing in the Yakima Symphony together. She's been teaching at an International school in Shanghai. I loved Shanghai. It gave me the feeling of a mix between Seatte, Singapore, and Hong Kong in some parts. It's an awesome metropolitan city with lots of culture and history.

The first day Bonny took me to QiBao (7 treasure) street. We bought matching hats and watches and did some other nice knick knack shopping. It's an old traditional style street. We ate these delicious crab dumplings and drank tea in an Old Tea house that overlooked the little channel. Then we went on a boat ride up and down the channel.

Electronic Stairboard

This weekend I was shopping for apartments in Hong Kong and having fun with my friend. We went to this mall. As we were walking down the stairs we wondered what was that noise. There was a set of stairs that are programmed like a giant keyboard. I had fun running up and down the stairs and making noise myself with all the little kids.

Sleeping Children and Laughing Foot Massagers

I don't know why but things are starting to seem funny to me today. I had a student fall asleep in class. I've been staying up late playing piano and writing music, so I could totally relate to her falling asleep. It looked like she was awake, because she had her pen in her hand and she was coloring. It was at the end of the day. School goes until 4pm. It's a long day for little kids. After school I headed to my favorite Indian restaurant and ate some good food and then got a foot massage. That's what I usually do after school. Go eat somewhere and then do something relaxing like a foot massage or a hair wash or nails. Today the lady who was massaging my feet kept laughing at me. It is a Chinese foot massage so they can be painful, because they really like to dig into your feet. Every time it would hurt I'd make a face and then she'd laugh. I started laughing because of her. I think she was laughing at the faces I was making.

Roman Buildings

Making a building is hard work and takes time and patience. Student's in Miss Ray's class are learning how to build Ancient Roman buildings. For the past several weeks students have discovered so much about Ancient Rome. One of their final projects was to research one of the Roman buildings and create it out of recycled material, such as, the colosseum, the circus maximus, the Temple of Jupiter, the marketplace, and a Patrician's home. It has made us think of our own school building and how excited we are for it to be finished!

This is what I recently wrote for our school's newsletter. Students worked hard on their buildings. The pictures show them working on it. The final result was amazing. I'll post some pictures of the finished project soon.

Field Trip

My students just finished a unit on Ancient Rome. We took a field trip to Shenzen to see the Windows of the World. People in Shenzen say, "Give us a day and we will show you the world." It is true you can see all the amazing wonders of the world in miniature. My students had a great time and were so excited to see the colloseum, aqueducts, and statues of Ceasar and Romulus and Remus. All day they were running around surprised and amazed at everything they saw. Four parents came along on the trip and it was nice to see parents supporting their children's education. The kid in me wanted to run around just like my students. Of course the students buy gifts for their parents. One little girl was so happy to get her dad an ashtray. I asked to see what she had gotten him and was surprised to see a picture of Chechavez on the ashtray. She had no idea who he was, but was just so happy. So I had to take a picture of her smiling face next to the Chechavez ashtray. I thought it was so ironic. A smiling little Korean girl holding a Chechavez ashtray.

Shopping in China is like going to a Rock Concert

Some Saturdays, when I am not tired, I take a walk to a shopping center. It is a nice walk along the river. There is a Starbucks there and I like to stop for a coffee and then wander through the vendors. These two blocks are crowded with people. On each block is a stage with people dancing and singing. THe music is so loud. They are trying to draw customers in with this little concert. On one stage these scantily clad girls were dancing hip-hop. I couldn't help think that shopping in China is sometimes like going to a rock concert.