The past couple of weeks have been pretty standard for us. We have spent much of our weekdays focused on school. Pazi has devoted a lot of time towards our school's bingo night and silent auction event. Her job is to create a basket filled with goodies for the auction. She has decided to go with a theme of "Kid's Creation." She has already gotten lots of recipes for snacks and things like play dough. Next, she will begin getting all the items she will need for the basket.Adan has started coaching the boy's middle school basketball team. They are very inexperienced so it will be a learning opportunity for both the boys and Adan. Right now they are only practicing once a week, but that will change soon. The season will probably only consist of a couple of games this year and ramp up next season. The other project Adan has been asked to work on is tutoring a secondary student in preparation for the AP Spanish exam. The boy is Taiwanese but lived ten years in the Dominican Republic. He speaks pretty good Spanish but has trouble writing. The two meet once a week after school to discuss the components of the test and practice conversational Spanish.
Last week we did some shopping in Shenzhen. We went down there with the Grants. The shopping was not bad for this market. We really don't like the fact that the sellers are not negotiable on anything. However, this day we found the right people. Pazi bought some really nice Crocs sandals and for a great price (less than $3 dollars!). She also founds some heels she was wanting to get for spring/summer. Adan got a hybrid golf club he was wanting for his set he got a while back. The seller knew him well so he gave a great price--90 yuan (about $13). He also bought some sunglasses for biking. He has really enjoyed getting out and exercising, especially on the weekend. He is threatening to buy Pazi a bicycle so she can join him. She was a little concerned with the drivers in China, but she appears to be coming around to the idea.
The only other piece of real excitement was our evening at the theater. Dongguan has a very stylish venue, Yulan Theater, for civic events. We looked at this season's shows and really only found one that appealed to us. It was the Beijing Acrobatic Show. This performance was a two and a half hour spectacle of amazing stunts. The opening act was a ballet dance who used point on the arms of a man below that spotted her. It was a very impressive display of talent. Later we saw several balancing acts, an amazing juggler, bicycle stunt women, and gymnasts with incredible leaping ability. Overall, it was a superb show that could easily go on the international circuit.
