Rats

Okay, so it’s been almost a full month since the last post. I know, I know, we’ve still got to complete the Xi’an posts since there’s a lot more to tell but things have been really busy here. Not much of an excuse but it’s all I can muster at this time (I’ll find a much more plausible excuse and put that one in the next post if it’ll make you feel better). We will again step away from the Xi’an posts to focus on Suzhou and the happenings here. What’s happened in the last month, Warren took a trip to an Outward Bound camp in Singapore, bicycles have become a new mode of transportation for the Dudley family and Jacob was in his first (waaaayy) off Broadway play.

We’ll focus on the play; “Rats” for this post, although the other items will also be worth mentioning in future posts (and hopefully that means near future and not a month from now). At SSIS (the kids school in case you don’t know), they had a class performance and Jacob’s teacher encouraged him to join their all star cast for the Elementary School play, Rats. Rats is a play based on the tale of the pied piper, just so we are clear on that (it’s not a sci-fi thriller about rats gaining mutant powers and fighting crime or anything like that). I didn’t know anything about the play but we “encouraged” (read, told him to take part in) him to be in the play. We don’t push our kids into things like this but in this case, we made an exception since it would be good for him. He would be a part of something that he had never done before. [Editor’s note: Just so Warren doesn’t feel left out….he has started to play Water Polo at school. I know; water polo at a high school?!?! It’s not the normal high school that’s for sure (and no they aren’t walking down the halls singing either).]

So for many weeks Jacob has stayed after school and practiced with the cast in preparation for the performance. He seemed to have everything down pat but the performance would tell the story of how well he knew his lines and if the efforts would pay off. Thursday and Friday night (20 & 21) were the performances. He seemed to be more excited about the pizza party Friday night but we knew he was really anxious about being there and having to get up in front of all those people. Tammy went to see the play both nights but I only went on Friday night since I have Chinese class on Thursdays. I’m not a big “theatre” guy (although I’m pretty sure I could’ve done the Siskel and Ebert thing if I were paid to go and watch these things) and I haven’t seen a play in many, many years so this was the first time to see a performance by kids in the elementary school. I was hoping Jacob would do okay; he had a small part (he was Bruiser Rat) and only had to say a few lines. It was a good show, not very long (which is always a bonus…always leave them wanting more right) but pretty darned entertaining and Jacob did well (along with all of the other kids in the play). There must’ve been around 90 kids in total involved in the performance so it was a pretty involved thing, a lot more than I was expecting. His teacher Ms. Sally headed up the play and did a great job of getting the kids ready. A lot of time and effort (and patience) went into getting this play off the ground and all of the people that took part put together a really strong performance. I’ll take one moment on Ms. Sally and tell you that first impressions here are dangerous (as they are anywhere but here where you meet people from different countries and cultures you don't always have a grasp on what is "normal" or acceptable). We first met her at the school open house since she is Jacob's homeroom teacher. She’s from the UK with red hair, many piercings, the multiple bracelets, rings on fingers, thumbs and some tattoos on her arms. I thought to myself, what kind of liberal flower power wanna-be are we getting here to teach the kids (quick, get me Newt on the phone). Well, I was completely wrong about her. Ms. Sally is a very organized and caring teacher; the kind of teacher that everyone wants for their kids. She may not have looked like your “standard” teacher but she sure as heck has gotten a lot out of Jacob and it’s the results that make all the difference (unless you are in politics, then it’s all about what you say, how you say it and how “honorable” your intentions are….what a crock!). I know that you are asking yourself, “Scott, did you learn a lesson from this and learned not be so quick to judge people?” Sorry to disappoint you, but the answer is “No”. Hey, at least I admit it (and did you expect any different?).

Back to Rats and Jacob; he looked pretty darned funny in his rat costume with his face all painted up. He did very well and I think all of the kids did a really good job. One small child in the front was a hoot, he looked lost virtually the entire performance. He was one of the younger kids so he wasn’t expected to do much but just the look on his face was great. I watched Jacob a lot but couldn’t help checking out this kid every once in a while to see if he had returned to planet Earth from fighting aliens (oops, I mean undocumented intergalactic travelers…no profiling here) on a distance planet in a galaxy far, far away. Jacob complained that he was bored but I think he enjoyed being on stage. I don’t know that he will take part in any other plays (we won’t “encourage” the next opportunity, we’ll let him decide….unless we change our minds which we have the right to do, after all, we are the parents and we make the rules right) but at least he tried it and gave it a good effort.

Once again, I will say it. My kids have surprised me. Warren in water polo, Jacob in a play…these are not things they would’ve done at home (forget that there’s no water polo in Stockbridge…work with me people). They have adapted to the environment and are thriving at most things (some of the education is coming very hard for them but they are trying hard, considering the ranking of GA public schools…it’s not a surprise to see they are behind many of their peers). It’s coming to the end of their first year at SSIS and all things considered, they have done remarkably well. We like the school, they like the school and we are trying to take advantage of all it has to offer them. You’ll have to wait and see what they try next.