Thursday, May 7, 2009 ;
7:51 AM
My Japanese friend, Yur, is here to visit! We meet again! (She left Tianjin for good, then we went to Japan to visit here and she's back now, but with her youngest dd only. The older 2 have to go to school.)
She arrived on 28th, and we met on the 29th at Fr's (German-Chi mom) house. Just so happened that Fr's son S's birthday is on the 29th so we all gathered at her house.
We all had a great chat. There were just 5 moms, so we had a cosy intimate tea. The kids ran all around the house first, then went out to the playground nearby and played all by themselves. The neighbourhood here is also very nice. The families who live here are mainly the school teachers/ principals but there were a few Airbus families and other expats too. Fr belongs to the last category, haha. She just moved there because of the cleaner and more spacious outdoor environment.
She managed to snag a good deal on the rental (9000rmb per mth) cos she's originally local Chinese, so she searched for renters herself instead of using an agent. I agree that it's a great deal. It was already beautifully furnished so she didn't need to do any renovations nor buy anything.
This is ds1 and S in his room, on his bed.
S is 2 mths younger than ds1 but look how much bigger he is!
The other kids were Ry, AR, Gab and Yur's little dd, Val. It's safe letting them play outside on their own because the neighbours are all from the same school too. Like an extended family.
Would be nice if my close friends, my sis etc can all buy houses in the same area, then we could do the same too. Let all our kids play outside together the whole day and we can do our own work in the house. Maybe just get one adult to keep an eye, could even have a roster duty.
Now, I am daydreaming again.
Ok, then on Thursday (30 Apr), we met again, a different set of moms now, at N's house for a tea party. N bought a new lounge table set. It was lovely sitting out there, with the pretty flowers, chirping birds and sipping tea and chatting. I ate some really good avocado, miss that since Utah. Haven't seen any good ones here. True enough, when I asked N, she said she bought it from Taiwan and brought it over here herself.
Me and a French mom in this pic. She is fluent in both Chinese and French, and has become hot property with the influx of Airbus families. During the tea itself, a driver called her to help translate to his Airbus employer. Then an Airbus wife called her to help translate some cooking directions to her ayi.
She is also teaching Chinese to some of the French moms too.
Us with Yur.. N refused to be in any picture...
On the way back home from the tea party, we passed by who else but ds1 and ds2 and Dh! Dh was on leave because of the May Day holiday (long weekend) so he was taking care of the kids. They were out cycling. ds1 was so thrilled to bump into Val. He really loves her a lot and takes very good care of her.
The previous day, when Yur and I took a cab home from Fr/S's house, ds1 sat behind with Val and held her hand and sang "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" to her. So sweet. And yes, he's been bugging me to give him a little sister. How to guarantee, huh??
rainbows every day, do not worry for the morrow
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S is 2 mths younger than ds1 but look how much bigger he is!
The other kids were Ry, AR, Gab and Yur's little dd, Val. It's safe letting them play outside on their own because the neighbours are all from the same school too. Like an extended family.
Us with Yur.. N refused to be in any picture...
