Membership Has Its Privileges

We finally got our annual passes to the big park outside our front door.  Eli is little enough that he's free so didn't need a pass.  Lucky him as these passes didn't really capture the rest of us at our best...

Yes, it's sideways.  Deal with it. 

We also finally got our annual membership to the Science and Technology Museum on the other side of the park (about a 15-20 minute walk).  Family passes here are just for mom, dad and one child (since families here are limited to one child), so we had to get a separate student pass for Naomi.  Eli is free but wasn't happy about not being included in the picture.  We tried to have him join us, but that apparently was against the rules.

Yes, deal with it again.  Not sure why it won't turn sideways.

So now we can go thru the park entrance right by our building and not have to walk 1/2 a mile down to the ticket booth.  This also means we can go anytime we want for as little time as we want AND can ride all the rides whenever we want.  Yes, there are rides.  They're awesome.  The flimsy or non-existent seat belts on the rides, not so awesome.  But I put aside my neuroses, shut my eyes and let them have fun.

That's Naomi and Townes up there.  Unbuckled.

Then we walked peacefully home.

Oops.

Yesterday we went back to the farm for some more nature school.  We picked tomatoes and lettuce and cucumbers and made salad.  Then we picked carrots and made "carrot kids" out of them. 

Very impressive Matthew.

It's a holiday today and tomorrow (May Day).  We'll take advantage of this time together before Matthew heads off to India later in the week.

This and That

It's been a few days since I've posted pictures, so here are some to catch you all up.  We continue to settle in, have ups and downs, and overall are just getting used to our new life.  Naomi had her first band mini-concert.  We have video, but it's too big to post.  We're working on that.  Eli loves school but won't admit it.  Townes started Taekwondo at the gym next door.  It's all in Chinese, but he can follow along just fine. 

We bought Eli some sand toys and on nice days, we head down to the massive sand pit in the neighborhood park.

Townes likes it too...

Elaine (from ISCVT) came to town.  She took me out for a night on the town.  THANK YOU Elaine!!  Who knew there was salsa dancing in Shanghai... 

While Naomi had band practice, Townes, Eli and I found a new playground.

This panda kite cracks me up.  It also makes me feel oddly anxious for the panda.

We finally took Matthew with us to the Science & Technology Museum.  Yes, there's ice cream there.

He loved Rainbowland.

Very interactive exhibits.

I think you should all add in your own caption here.  There are so many great possibilities.

We finally found the right taekwondo outfit for Townes.  He likes it.

Blue Skies and Finishing Touches

First to the finishing touches...  You know you are settling into your new life in Shanghai when you are the proud owner of these two items. 

Air thick and dirty, no problem, now we can make our own fresh air.

No more lugging water from the corner store.

But we didn't need the air purifyer today.  It was a beautiful sunny day with a rare bright blue sky.  The big kids and I took this opportunity for another morning out.

East Nanjing Pedestrian Street

Running to check out the turtles and sharks

Getting close to People's Park

In People's Square in front of the Shanghai Museum

So much blue sky today.

This spot is apparently only for little kids to feed the birds.  All the parents waited outside the fence, taking pictures.

After picking up Eli from school, we went to our new favorite cafe for a sunny day treat.



This was the strawberry yogurt smoothie.

Don't worry, Eli and I helped out.

These Colors Don't Run

I am going to rap a little red, white and blue at you today. Break out yer flags and yer apple pies and yer Battle Hymns of the Republic and all that.


Freedom of Speech - Norman Rockwell

Just back from a staff retreat here, where it was my job to explain the history of the Institute for Sustainable Communities, where I work, to a team of my colleagues here. I was getting into how the place that ISC is based – little, rural Vermont – played a significant role in ISC’s founding as an organization dedicated to promoting active citizenship, strong communities, and environmental stewardship around the world. I used a Norman Rockwell painting that will probably be familiar to many of you, entitled “Freedom of Speech.”

Rockwell painted this in 1943, as a series of four works displayed around the country in department stores and other public places, to demonstrate what was at stake for America and for the planet during the Second World War. Other paintings included “Freedom from Want” – most of you will know that one as well, which shows a typical large family Thanksgiving dinner with a table so laden with food it looks fit to bust – “Freedom of Religion,” and “Freedom from Fear.” These concepts were drawn from Franklin Roosevelt’s 1941 State of the Union address, in which he warned of the danger posed by the Axis powers and called for increasing American military production to support our allies with shipments of weapons and materiel – 11 months before Pearl Harbor.
 
“Freedom of Speech” was probably the most successful of the four paintings. Rockwell drew from his experiences with New England town meetings, such as those we still attend in Vermont today. For those of you unfamiliar with the practice, a town meeting is just that – everyone in the town is invited to gather in a central location for a big, open debate on the important (and unimportant) decisions the community has to make. In our little town of Worcester, this includes everything from whether to give $200 to the local Meals on Wheels program, to whether to buy a new fire truck, to approving a $1 million (plus) local school budget. Everyone has a chance to have their say, and decisions are taken collectively and democratically. It’s actually something of a state holiday in Vermont.

Yuyuan Garden

After taking Eli to school this morning, Allison's Academy for Troubled Youth (affectionately called AATY from here on out) hit the road.  Five metro stops later and we made it to Yuyuan Garden. 

The youth were kind of excited.

In front of the famous tea room.

In front of a less famous tea room.

Watching the incense burn at the City God Temple.

Inside the garden complex was amazing.  It was originally built in the 1500s.

The fish would follow you around and beg for food.

Tired but happy.

Eli Goes to School

He wasn't sure what to make of the uniform.

He gets to commute with Daddy.  Today via taxi, but soon on the back of Daddy's bike.

Checking out the cubby room.

On our way to pick him up at the end of the day (or rather half-day).

His teachers said he was a superstar.  We agree.  He celebrated by coloring the couch with permanent green marker.  Oops.

Easter on the Farm

Instead of going on an Easter egg hunt, we hunted for cherry tomatoes.  One of Matthew's colleagues founded an organic farm about an 45 minutes outside of Shanghai.  It's kind of a combination farm/education center/CSA/community garden/weekend getaway (www.ecolandclub.com).

Entering the farm

There's about 20 acres of farmland and 7-8 large greenhouses.  They grow all sorts of vegetables, strawberries, tomatoes, beans, you name it.  Lots of egg-laying hens and ducks.  Goats, rabbits, puppies, everything a farm needs.  About 80 families have small garden plots and a handful have small cottages where they can spend the night. 

Townes with the weekend cottages behind him.

They've also started a brand new farm & nature education center for children.  Sunday was their first class.  About 14 kids signed up and our friend asked me if I wanted to help be one of the farm educators.  Those of you who know me well, may find this funny.  I agreed, not really understanding what I was getting myself into, namely introducing and organizing the activities and explaining the science behind them.  I channeled my inner Tom Sabo and did my best.

Oh, and Shanghai TV was there to film it...

They interviewed Naomi:

We collected "treasures" from the farm...

I ooohed over them.

And then we made hats.

Could be an Easter bonnet, no?

We had a feast of a lunch, watched the kids run around, and then did one more nature activity.  We built terrariums out of plastic water bottles, dirt from the path, and weeds.  These are city kids and thought it was all great.  We went home exhausted and happy and with giant bags of freshly picked lettuce, bok choy, tomatoes, and duck and chicken eggs.

Pan Tau, the visionary behind this incredible place.