the girls lately

School Birthday and Sports Day

Tilly's first big performance. She does not like the spotlight. She doesn't like performing in front of people. Her teacher told me that even when they were learning the dance she never followed the steps. Just stood there. And on the day the three kindi classes from Xing Long Elementary stood out in front of the whole school and all the distinguished guests and did their dance. Tilly did not. She just stood there. Out of the nearly one hundred kids participating, she was the only one not. And yet when it came time to partner up in the dance she just kicked in and followed in time with the steps. Even coaching her partner along. Holding his hand up and guiding him in the steps. Didn't skip a beat. It was a wonder to behold. She did not let her partner down. I love that about Tilly. She's got your back. And when they didn't have to partner anymore? Just stood there till the dance finished!

One blow of the whistle in all the hulla baloo and the kids raised up their arms and followed out to the sports field.

Tilly's sweet teacher. She adores her. She is the perfect teacher for her.

Waiting for the special performances to finish. Revoltingly hot and humid day. By lunch it was pouring down with rain, hence the humidity.

Tilly's best friend. Till's fell on the muddy floor and muddied up her pink tights on the knees. I pondered running home to grab her another pair. But before I could her friend fell over twice and had a black bottom to match Tilly's black knees. They thought it was quite hilarious. (Evie is already over it and wanting sleep and air conditioning so couldn't see the funny side.) A quick survey and about 90% of the kids had scuffed their whites. Thanks goodness! Speaking of whites. They were asked to wear white tights and a white short sleeved top. All the girls ditched their shirts due to the heat. Tills was having none of that. She endured the heat in the name of modesty.......

Getting ready to perform.

The kids getting into it. Can you see through the legs Tilly's scuffy shoes planted firmly together not moving?

And off she goes! Note she's also the one with her hand where the teacher has hers.

Eyes on her teacher.

Going through the motions.

Didn't pay attention to shoes on the day and she walked out of the house in her oldest and dirtiest pair! It was a nice morning and ended with a daddy daughter race. So sorry I didn't have the camera at that stage. Yellow class lost miserably. But what fun they had and their teachers were wild with excitement, despite the pitiful loss! I've noticed that Tilly's class (yellow) is a bit shaggy around the edges and that might have something to do with their class being the only one with middle class kids, meaning 4 year olds. You can be 6 and still in kindi here. Also, her class has three teachers, I guess to accommodate for the younger middle class, half day students? But despite their shaggy edges (and having the sloppiest dance routine on the day!), I also get the sense that the teachers and the students all really enjoy what they are doing and most of it is steeped in fun. And to say that about Taiwanese education is something let me tell you.

Airport Goodbyes

We decided to take the girls along to the airport this time round to say goodbye. Tilly loved it. She gets a real buzz out of airports. She waved happily to Nan and Pop yelling at them through the barriers. Then we went back to the car and she asked would they be in the car waiting for us!! I hadn't really realised that it wasn't registering with her. On the way home she snuggled into to me and started crying her little heart out. Crushed she was. And for a good two days after their departure. She even woke the next day and said she'd been a good girl and could she go to Hong Kong now? They were tranferring in HK. Here's a photo of the merriment, ha.

Tilly got a hold of the camera while we had a coffee waiting for the plane. I love this photo of Evie!

Lan Yang Museum

We stopped on our last day at the Lan Yang Museum. This museum was wonderful. It is described as a 'window and a curio box of sorts to the great land of Yi-lan.' When you first walk in there is a coffee shop and coffee museum, though I am not quite sure what that was all about. None the less, it was lovely to sit there and relax, eat lunch and look at the falling rain outside.

Inside the museum. 'The permanent exhibitions take advantage of the building's special characteristics, including the Introductory Exhibition as well as the Mountain Level, Plain Level, Ocean Level, and Corridor or Time Exhibitions spread over the building's four floors and suggesting Yi-lan's overall geographical and cultural context.' You take an escalator up from the permanent exhibition entrance all the way up to the top. I think the escalator was almost vertical!!

Each permanent exhibit showed the different facets of life in Yi-lan. It was really informative and very hands on. The first level "Mountains" (no pictures here) also helped us understand more about the Cypress forest we'd been to the day before.

This is "Plains". It was really great for the kids to wander around and interact with everything.

Evie over the ducks and chirping.

Rainy days, all three. But it somehow fit.

"Oceans" exhibit.

Captain Evie.

Beautifully contructed and designed. It is a wealth of knowledge and I would love to visit it again.

Ma Kao Ecological Park

Way too much going on in this place to explain it all!! Just to say that it was spectacularly beautiful.