Bus Stop

One of the only redeeming qualities to having the school play so late in the year, is the beautiful weather Shenyang experiences in the late spring. Amid finals prep, spring trips, AP exams, and a million other things that are crammed into the last days of school,  the secondary play was nestled compactly into a single weekend. The time between opening night and closing night is barely twenty-four hours! What a whirlwind of activity--an intense climax--for months of preparation and hard work. From my perspective, it is very anti-climatic. 

I remember when we started, it was freezing outside. I felt guilty bringing Willow with me, especially on days when the school would forget to send their driver to pick me up. That would lead to walking/standing outside for 10-30 minutes trying to hail a cab. Willow was five months old and hated the below freezing temps--she could hardly breathe in the temperatures. I would stay inside until the last possible minute, bundle her up in hats, coats, multiple pairs of socks/pants, and quilts--and then brace myself for the weather. The school forgot to pick me up several times, during these frigid days. I was NOT a happy camper. It's ironic that they never forgot me when the weather was beautiful. 

Like the day that I took this picture. We went out to the bus stop EARLY because the day was so mild--it was gorgeous! 

It's kind of hard to see, but there are two guards in uniform on the other side of this gate. Wearing the suit, is their boss. He came to where I was waiting outside the gate, took Willow, and brought her back inside the gate. Chinese people love babies, and have no hesitation in breaking Western social boundaries...mostly because they are unaware of their existence. Usually, I would have fought him off a little more vigilantly, but I've seen this man around several times. He makes sure his guards salute everyone that walks inside the gate. He is very big on formalities. He also made sure that everyone who entered had a card for our complex. I was glad he didn't ask me, because I didn't have it at the time.

Poor Willow.

After I took this picture I rescued her and went to a location far away from the security manger--but where I would still be able to see the school van. Haha. I'm not THAT comfortable with letting just anyone hold my baby. 

In our secure location....

Willow is obsessed with this stuffed tiger. She loves it! It helped alot during tech week when we were separated for long periods of time (I was at school, and she was at home with baby sitters). 

If you say, 'meow', she'll crawl around until she finds her tiger. We call the tiger a 'kitty', thereby building erroneous schema in her baby brain. 

~julie