unicycle hockey
Friday, March 13th, 2009by the Mama, who had to stay home with the babies đ
Hong Kong
as requestedâŚâŚ
We can do it too!
Almost.
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*magical*
Friday, March 13th, 2009By Rach (who left her knitting at home this day)
Hong Kong
âIt was worth lots of ice creams,â Lboy8 commented as we strolled away from the most breathtaking fireworks display. Boom after boom of colour had sprinkled and spiralled into the sky, illuminating and then silhouetting Cinderellaâs Castle in a choreographed display of wonder.
For months the children had gone without icecreams (and worn too-short pyjamas for a winter and forfeited last yearâs Easter eggs and done all manner of extra jobs) â all to save money for a trip to Disneyland. They were not disappointed.
There was only one *thrilling* ride, but for children who have only one other amusement park experience with which to compare, this in no way detracted from the day. Besides, they went on that roller coaster five times!
For the rest of the nine hours they were delighted and enthralled and amused and entertained, and they laughed and waited in short queues and chattered and spun and climbed and rode and giggled and adventured and flagged mid-afternoon and got their second wind and experienced some more and oohed-and-aahedâŚ
ERgirl2
We headed first to Fantasyland to give the younger ones a gentle introduction to the world of Disney attractions. A ride through one of our favourite books with Winnie-the-Pooh seemed just the ticket. And it wasâŚ..until the honeypot we were travelling in turned bouncy with Tigger and the lights went out and ER cried the rest of the way, âPlease let me out, please let me out now.â
This one fear factor ruined her for the next three rides. She can ride a real live elephant, but was petrified on the carousel horse. She loves dolls, but sobbed her way through âItâs a Small Worldâ. She jiggles to music and makes all kinds of dress-ups, but the big yellow glasses did nothing to enhance her enjoyment of the (admittedly loud) orchestral 3-D show with Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck. The rest of us loved it though. Even when a lion jumped right off the stage with wide open mouthâŚ.and other jumpity moments too.
Fortunately a ride in the spinning teacups flicked the switch for her, and she ended up delighting in the whole experience. She rode the horses another half dozen times, spun in the teacups some more, controlled Dumboâs ascent and descent more times than I could muster enthusiasm for, did a spot more spinning, zoomed around in a UFO, and when we revisited her one other unfavourite ride, she was happy to snuggle on my knee, pull my hand over her eyes and just peek out occasionally to avoid the about-to-swallow-me hippo, the wild apes with shooting guns and the fire that threatened to engulf our boat.
Tgirl4 was altogether a different story. She was impressed with the storybook ride, adored the spinning teacups (âGo faster Mama, please can you spin faster!â) and begged to be allowed on the roller coaster. Against our better judgment (sheâs only a little wee four years old), because she exceeded the height restriction, we let her go.
She emerged, a blonde bouncing ball of adrenaline, urging me to accompany her for a second ride, âYouâve GOT to come Mama, itâs so much fun, youâve really got to do it.â
And so, against my better judgment, I did.
T4 talked me through it all â we have to wait here, we have to watch the screen for instructions, we have to keep our hands and arms and legs in, you have to watch me coz Iâm a child, we have to pull the bar down now, itâll be dark and and slow at first, but donât worry, soon it speeds up and gets exciting, and it gets all turny and itâs so much fun –
At this, she pulled my hand on to her leg and held it tightly.
âDo I need to hold your hand?â I wondered out loud in anticipatory semi-darkness.
âYes, coz itâs still scary,â she beamed up at me.
She was right.
She bounded off her second ride, as eagerly as the first, âI so have to find Dadda and tell him you screamed all the way!âÂ
Right again!
Sheâs teetering between two worlds, this little button. One minute all grown up and a companion in the 6 and 8 year old brother games, and the next sheâs still only little. Big enough for a roller coaster, but not alone.
Then, when she saw Buzz Lightyear she wanted to show him a sticker sheâd been given of him. Noticing the length of the queue waiting for a Buzz Photo Op, I suggested she show her sticker to the huge Buzz model nearby.
âBut heâs not real Mama,â she pointed out.
Big Brother enlightened her, âNorâs the other one T. Heâs just a person dressed up.â
T4 remained dubious, and, still being little, failed to observe we were walking away from the <yawn> queue as we talked.
Mboy6
âThe roller coaster was my favourite and also the worst thing I went on.â
Even worse than being spun by his baby sisters in the teacups!
Not that Mama feared much better.
Soon after this next photo Kgirl10 observed, âYouâre very pale Mumâ and others chorussed gleefully, âYouâre green!!â I used to *love* spinny things. Not so fast now.
Â
My stomach may not have been up to it, but my brain was still working. Flying above the park, taking a river cruise, I couldnât put her out of my mind. Her name was Wendy and our conversation on a Yangshuo street went something like this:
You lucky many children. China no have many. I no lucky. I have two. Girls. No lucky. No more, too much money. I no have money. I no have boy. I want see two things. I want see sea. I want see city.
She lived just a bus trip away from the city, a day away from the sea. But she had no hope of ever seeing either.
How do you lose yourself in hedonism with her words replaying over and over?
They jarred against the flashy glitzy manufactured experiences.
I couldnât reconcile the two.
Rob had less trouble. He was too busy playing the goat or playing with his new toy memory-capturing-tool (thatâs why there arenât too many photos of him this day, and more than one or two of meâŚ.he was behind the lens).
Magical memories that will last a lifetime.Â
Â
1-2-3 a-b-c
Wednesday, March 11th, 2009
by Mama-Teacher
Hong Kong (back in Kowloon)
It almost felt like a New Zealand kind of learning day today.
When I popped down to the bakery to pick up our lunch goodies (OK, so maybe not entirely NZ-ish!), a biggish boy accompanied ... [Continue reading this entry]
Hong Kong Island Tour – The North Side
Monday, March 9th, 2009
by the mother, who found the nearly-3-year-old to be quite heavy after a few hours in a wrap
Hong Kong
When you come to Hong Kong you can take a tour in an open-top bus and it really does look like ... [Continue reading this entry]
different, but familiar
Friday, March 6th, 2009
by Rachael
Hong Kong
We continue to notice differences in Hong Kong, comparing this new experience to others we have had in the now-five-months away.
"There are no motorbikes, Dad."
That's true, and much less honking than other places too.
What's more, the vehicles ... [Continue reading this entry]
downtown sights and sounds
Tuesday, March 3rd, 2009
composed by everyone as we walked 12km round town today - go little legs!
Guangzhou, China
DOWNTOWN....
[Continue reading this entry]
spotted in China
Sunday, March 1st, 2009
by Rach
Guangzhou, China
(or security guard, anyway!)
today.....just like centuries ago.....mud brick tiled house, cart, garden, pump....
Much nicer than any of ... [Continue reading this entry]
from the ends of the earth
Saturday, February 28th, 2009
by phone-phobic Rach, friend of phone-phobic Rosie
Guangzhou, China
Â
Fans of Fuli
Tuesday, February 24th, 2009
by Rachael
Fuli, Yangshuo surrounds, China
 
slowed to a stop
Monday, February 23rd, 2009
started by Rach, who is sick in bed, and Rob, who finished it off
Yangshuo, China
Some days we slow down, sometimes coming to a complete standstill. Today, was such a day; stopped for the Mama, but only slow for the children.
Kboy10 was ... [Continue reading this entry]
rayres