Last week Marty had a conference in Beijing from Thursday through Sunday so I was a single mom. I decided this was an opportune time to branch out and set up a play date with a coworker who also has a 2 year old girl. We met up at the school pool (which doubles as the community pool for those who live in the school compound, and is free for teachers to use) and had a great time chatting and chasing our little ones.
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| Everleigh & her new friend Maddie, ready for a swim! |
Saturday night I decided to treat myself to a night out. I had our Ayi come and watch Everleigh while I got to get all dolled up and go to the Shangri La for a gala. It was put on by Captivating International (http://www.captivating.org/), and they were raising funds for a girls' home in China that provides education for girls who were abandoned, orphaned, or who have loving families who just can't provide an education for their child. It was a great cause, and a great excuse to wear a nice dress before I can't fit into one anymore!
I decided once Marty got back I really needed to do something about my hair. Blondes should NOT go 3 months without getting highlights, but there simply are not enough hours in the day here to squeeze that sort of thing in. I finally found time after dinner on Monday (the salons here are open until 11:00 I found out - fabulous!) and found a place that was recommended to me for their ability to do blonde highlights (not so common here in China). After offering me a book of color samples to look at (black, brown, dark brown, red...) the lady finally looked at my hair and realized (ding! ding! ding!) "You want blonde highlight?" Yes, please. There are no color options for blonde apparently. They just whisked me away and started mixing up some color. I have to say, my little stylist dude worked incredibly fast and did an amazing job. He also gave me a much-needed trim (notice I said trim, Lori, not another cut) to get rid of my mullet-like shag. ; )
Yesterday was my 29th birthday and I got to celebrate with Learning Comes Alive, a day where parents are invited into your classroom to participate in literacy time with your class. Woohoo! ; ) I also had a staff meeting about report cards until 5:00. If you dislike report cards back home, you would loathe them here. Much more time-consuming, narratives for every child for every subject. Yeesh. I am not looking forward to them, but am resigned to the fact that it's just something I'll have to do three times a year, no matter what. On the plus side, our assistant principal buttered us up by providing snacks at our meeting and beer afterwards on the rooftop. Yes, beer at school. So weird.
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| Marty enjoying a beer, since I can't. ; ) |
Wow! So usually I write these in one sitting, and actually did have a draft ready to publish but needed to wait to get home so I could add a few pictures. Good thing I waited! This part of my original post was all about how we were going for a family dinner, then I was going for manis and pedis with a couple of friends. Instead, I can now write about a fabulous surprise party that my coworkers and hubby organized! I was totally floored. We walked into the restaurant and I saw a huge group of people and thought to myself, "I wonder if we know any of them?" Then everyone yelled "Surprise!" and it still took a second to sink in. I have been overwhelmed by the thoughtfulness and love I've felt from my new coworkers here. It's great to have that support when you're away from home. Of course, I also got some love from home. Two packages arrived just in time for my birthday. Thanks Kristal and Mom for the goodies! : )
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| Birthday Princess hat : ) |
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