Last weekend, I drove the car to pick up Karis from playing at a friends' house. I usually would have ridden my bike, but it was cold and windy, so I opted for the car instead. It took me a full 40 minutes to return home a distance of 2.5 to 3 miles! We started back up at school again this week after the Christmas holiday, and instead of taking us the usual 40 minutes to drive to school, we finally arrived after an hour and 15 minutes of driving, with both Kevin and me being late to teach our first period classes (and the kids obviously late to attend their own classes, too). So we're not sure quite what adjustments to make, other than we're having earlier mornings and trying to give ourselves more time to make it to places. But we're also hoping that cars on the road will either loosen up again or that the traffic flow will return (at least somewhat) to how it was before this new year's panic ensued!
One of our highlights from last weekend was Kevin and me celebrating our 11th wedding anniversary! We took off for the evening to a fun Japanese hibachi grill restaurant and then even spent the night away in a hotel. We had friends watch the kids, and I'm not sure who enjoyed themselves more, them or us! I must confess that one highlight was an uninterrupted nights' sleep. One of the kids has had a problem with bed-wetting for months now, so we've recently tried using a bed-wetting alarm (which should wake them up at night when they go to the bathroom, with the intent being to condition their body to awaken on their own before they have to go). It's been 2 weeks now, and let's just say that his body is still not conditioned! I'm getting pretty tired of being awakened 2 to 3 times each night by a blaring alarm to change sheets, underwear, and pj bottoms. Hoping for all our sake's that we see some progress--and soon! These early mornings are feeling earlier and earlier....
We were saddened this week by a series of events with our ayi, who we consider to be like family to us. We invited she and her entire extended family to come over for dinner this Saturday night. We thought she agreed and was okay with it, after MUCH persuasion on our part that it was not too much trouble and that we really wanted time with all of them (there are about 12 of them in her extended family who get together every weekend to share meals together). During the conversation, she shared that she had previously been embarrassed to let us know that she and her husband had separated right after she started working for us (no connection to them breaking up and her starting to work for us), which was 3 years ago! We couldn't believe that they hadn't been together in all that time, but think it is a very much a cultural thing, as divorce or separation here in China are very much looked down upon. And then the next day, we discovered that her family was not willing to come over this weekend after all. There were several reasons given, but we think the bottom line is that none of them have every had any interaction with foreigners, and they are too embarrassed to do so. Kevin and I have honestly been so sad about this, as we truly consider our ayi part of our family and have recently had such barriers between us come down (as far as we can tell); so to not have this access into her world and this other part of her life has really saddened us. We're hoping to try to initiate again, but are asking other friends here about how to do so in a way that shows our love and desire to pursue them, yet doesn't put undue pressure on her or her family to respond to us.
The air pollution today is so bad that we received notice that none of the students are allowed to have any outdoor activities (PE, recess, etc.) and that as teachers, we are to report immediately any students who are seeming to have respiratory issues throughout the day. It's 3pm, but it looks like it is just after sunrise, due to the hazy dull glare of the sky; the sun is no where in sight. It's days like this that I both wonder what in the world makes today any different and so much worse than other pollution days, and also forces me to lift of prayers for protection over the lungs of my family as we have no choice but to inhale at least a little bit!
With the coldest part of the winter upon us, the ice has once again frozen solid near our apartment, and it is thick enough for the kids to look forward to dropping their school bags and "skating" a bit in their snowboots on it when we pick them up from the bus stop. It is truly a highlight! Lots of our neighbors pass by, some with looks of bewilderment, as my crew races around the thick ice laughing and having sliding competitions. It's the little things that make the cold we've gotten so much more accustomed to seem bearable.
