So our last few weekends have consisted of attending Saturday night baseball games, and this weekend was no different! I go armed with a ton of snacks and they kids come with bats, gloves, and whiffleballs in hand, ready to play in any open space they can find when they get bored of merely being spectators. Today they went to the game also sporting their newly purchased tennis shoes, some of our first (no, make that our VERY first) apparel purchases this side of the ocean for the kids (with the exception of a pair of socks or two)! We had quite the adventure yesterday, running around to find 3 pair of shoes that would fit the older three kids. I finally figured out the way the system worked. When you go into a store, they have quite a few shoes out on display. But these shoes are not just the styles that are available, they are actually the entire stock that the store has available. So rather than asking for something in a particular size that you see on the shelf, you literally have those shoes that you see on the shelf as your purchasing options. (I discovered this by trial and error, after I asked several times if the worker could find such and such shoe in a larger or smaller size. After getting several blank looks and a few phone calls to a mysterious but absentee supervisor, I figure out that all the shops worked on an as-you-see-it, so you can buy it basis alone! This actually made the process go a little quicker, as it greatly diminished our options. Especially since I was definitely opposed to buying pink or glitter for the boys! (I know, we're trying to acculterate to China, but we've gotta draw the line somewhere, right? And I'm smart enough to know what would really push the grandfather's buttons on both sides of the family and want to avoid that at all costs!!) Oh, and you only get one shoe at a time to try on (which is normally tightly wrapped up in saran wrap). Once you verbally commit to buying that pair of shoes, then they bring out the mate from some mysterious beyond!
So the kids are showing off their new shoes as they lay in the grass (that's right, I said "grass"!) at the track right next to the baseball field. The kids were so thrilled to have grass to play in, that we had a hard time getting them out of it! The Chinese kids around us kept asking me if they didn't fear mosquitoes, and I assured them that they did not. They were only too thrilled to have some soft green stuff to play in that they were willing to risk a few bug bites, of any type!
The picture with everyone in the concrete bleachers is the stadium that the baseball team played at previously, which was not nearly as kid-friendly (due to the sheer drop-offs at every level of the stadium!). We had a few friends attend with us a week or two ago when we went to a game at that stadium, but have since opted for the Sat night games at the one with grass.
The other photo is of the boys in the living room from our morning "cave building expedition". We decided that this was a good way to spend a Saturday morning when the heat is super extreme and the pollution especially bad, making outside play less than desirable! I'm still amazed at how we are affected by the "different" air quality here. Yesterday I really thought I was getting some kind of a cold because my throat and head felt so crummy after running around on the three wheeler with the kids while running errands. I keep thinking we'll get used to breathing here, but not sure how long that would take. I heard good advice from a friend today who said that one of her doctor's here in Beijing recommended leaving the country for a two-week period of time each year specifically for the purpose of allowing the pollutants in one's lungs to clear out. I thought this was good advice, especially if it lands us in some exotic beach location that has lots of fun and fruity special drinks!
