An American Day in China

I was going to write only about the first day of school, but then as I was reflecting on the day, I was struck by how my day could have happened in any suburb of America. For the most part, yesterday, I didn't feel like I was living in China at all.

Here's what I mean:
- morning walk/run
- bagels, cereal and milk for breakfast
- pack lunches - peanut butter and jelly
- kids ride their bikes to school
- parents are at school on the first day to take pictures
- the school principal does the clapping rhythm to get the kids' attention
- I volunteer in the school library
- kids come home after school and do homework
- we have tacos for dinner
- kids play after dinner
- a little TV, then bed

Seems pretty typical, yes?

Here are some pictures:

Getting off the elevator in our building:


About to leave the building for school:


The road to school:


Waiting in front of the school:


The big kids (middle and high school) go through a separate entrance:


The school buses:


Bike parking - that's our condo in the background:


On the way home from school:


Coming back into our neighborhood:


So looking at the pictures, maybe you did notice some differences from a typical American day:

- kids on bikes without helmets (not mine...)
- security guards directing traffic
- leaving home via the elevator!
- the cushy school buses
- valet bike parking (not sure if this will happen every day but the guard took the bikes from the kids and parked them!)
- no bike locks
- no bags of school supplies
- playing outside, after dark, unsupervised

And one thing you can't tell from the picture - small class sizes!!! (Don't read this part if you are upset about your local district's budget cuts...)

Kevin's class has 8 students! There will be more coming during the year (up to 17 max), but 8 right now!!! Kiana's class has 9!!! She said after school yesterday, "I don't feel like I'm at school, I feel like I'm at some kind of camp!"

They also have several "specials" every day. Science, art, music, tech lab, PE, Mandarin, and library. WOW!

I think this will be a good school year!
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