A Night at the Aquarium

What's the first thing that comes to mind when you hear 'Girl Scouts'? Hands down, the answer has to be those delicious cookies that they sell every spring - their shortbread is absolutely divine, not to mention the lemon cookies!  Here in Suzhou, I had Manasi join the Girl Scouts mainly because a friend of mine was Troop Leader - too bad we don't get the cookies here, but they still do tons of different activities, like the Daddy-Daughter dance just last month! Being part of something like this is such a fun way to learn about being responsible and helping people!

Shanghai Aquarium

The biggest and I think, the best Girl Scout event this year was last weekend - spend a night at the aquarium in Shanghai! Of course, Manasi wanted to go - and when the organizers were short of parent chaperons, I signed up to go as well! Now, normally I stay far away from anything that sounds like camping - I don't mind hiking or trekking or doing any other out door things all day long, but come bed time, I need a comfortable bed, and the assurance of running water and reasonably clean toilets the morning after. I know, I know - I'm a wimp! I didn't really think it through before I agreed to go - and this was kind of indoor camping, might not be too bad?!

So there I was, Saturday morning, sorting out sleeping bags and pillow - hey, I might sleep on the floor, but I have to have my down pillow! I had a suitcase all ready for my things, but Ajey 'convinced' me to take a backpack instead! Didn't have too many things to pack - a change of clothes, toiletries and food. Funny story about the food. The sleepover package at the aquarium included dinner and breakfast the next day. The chicken burgers that we were supposed to have for dinner were cancelled because of the Bird Flu scare, so we were to have a choice of fish or shrimp. The irony of eating fish in an aquarium would have been lost on most people (including me), but Manasi was totally freaked out! She just could not get over it! So, finally I decided to pack dinner for us - and maybe a little breakfast too!

A Dulwich school bus had been arranged to take us to the aquarium and back, and shortly before 3pm we were on our way. I was surprised at how big the group was - 32 girls, from ages 7 to 14, and 8 moms! The girls were all in high spirits, chattering away - thankfully, there was no singing! At the aquarium, we were taken straight to the cafeteria to have dinner - I was expecting a concession stand where they would hand out food, but this was a regular cafeteria with a regular menu. We, of course, had a set menu - which, to be honest, wasn't all that bad! French fries, soda, an egg tart (hmm, no chicken - but eggs are ok?) and the fish sandwich - It did look like a Filet-o-Fish from McDonald's, only here the fillet had bits of grey scales and skin still on it - we are in China, people! The girls were persuaded to eat the sandwich bun without the fish, and along with the packed food that most of us had brought, we did just fine!

The aquarium usually closes at 6pm, so by the time we finished eating, we had the place to ourselves! After dropping off our bags in the Information Room, we were free to explore! The girls were given a little quiz to answer about the fish that they were about to see - and they fairly tore through the exhibits searching for the answers. Kind of beat the purpose, I thought - they weren't looking at the fish, just reading the signs! The Shanghai Aquarium is not that huge - about an hour should suffice to walk through at a leisurely pace, maybe a little more if you took time to really look at all the fish! There's a really amazing jellyfish gallery - strange how something so beautiful can be so dangerous! The main attraction, of course, is the shark tunnel - again, so sleek, yet, so deadly!

In the shark tunnel...

The girls went absolutely crazy, of course! They were running back and forth, talking loudly, posing for pictures - the poor fish must have been scared out of their wits! I really enjoyed the absence of crowds - it was so nice to get right up to the displays, and not have to compete with jostling hordes to get a look, let alone a picture! The aquarium also has spotted seals - how adorable are these animals? They were swimming furiously in their tank, occasionally getting close to the glass to look at us - they have the softest, brownest eyes I have ever seen! I was really disappointed that I couldn't get a good picture of them! And the penguins - I think this is the first time I have ever seen live penguins! They can be so still, it took me a minute to realize they were real, and not just models! And this is absolutely my imagination, but I did think that the penguins were staring a bit wistfully at the painted ice mountain backdrop in their enclosure!

Posing with the penguins!

After we had our fill of fish - sorry, couldn't resist that one - we headed back to the information room. A very nice, soft spoken Aquarium lady gave us a presentation about sharks, and of course, the answers to the quiz! Then the high point of the evening - the girls actually got to pet the sharks, White Spotted Bamboo Sharks, to be very precise! With much squealing and giggling, the girls really enjoyed this - the sharks not so much! One of them was so startled that it actually leaped in the air, splashing wildly back - I think it was trying to get away from our gaggle of girls!

Petting the sharks...

Too soon, it was time to turn in! We trooped back to the shark tunnel to lay out our sleeping bags - about half the girls chose to sleep in the actual tunnel, and the rest of us were in a big area right next to a stingray display. The girls wee still in no mood to sleep, even after the lights were turned off - there was much whispering and giggling, until finally, at 11pm our troop leader asked them to stop talking! The lights on our side of the aquarium were off, but the lights in the aquarium were just dimmed - it was almost ethereal - the serene blue tank, and the fish that kept swimming, glowing a pearly white against the water! I woke up a couple of times, and it was just so breathtakingly beautiful! I had never thought of fish as being diurnal or nocturnal, and I had read that most fish need to keep swimming all the time - so it was a little surprising to see so many of them, including some of the sharks, laying down on the floors of the tanks for a snooze!

Craziness at bed time...

An early wakeup call next morning - we had to be out of there before the aquarium opened its doors at 9am! Breakfast was orange juice and a ham and egg sandwich - again, with the egg? - most of these were uneaten! Thankfully, there was coffee for the adults - caffeine badly needed! The girls were all such troopers - rolling up their sleeping bags, getting dressed, and then carrying all their stuff without a word of complaint! We were on the bus, and back in Suzhou before 10am! Sure, I was tired - but nothing that a nap wouldn't take care of, and sleeping on the floor wasn't as uncomfortable as I thought it would be! Most of the other moms that came along, I met for the first time, and it's always interesting to meet new people! Bottom line, I had a really good time! Can't wait to sign up for the next excursion!!

International Day

Did you know that there are expats from over 25 different countries living in Suzhou? Even in our school in Chennai, the number of countries represented was astounding! To celebrate this unique and rich diversity, most international schools have an International Day - not only is it really good advertising for the school, but it is also a great opportunity for all of us to literally take a trip around the world in few short hours!

In the American International School Chennai, we did UN Day every year - same concept, different name! Beginning with an assembly in the morning - the children did a Parade of Nations - different nationalities walking in with their flags while their national anthem played in the background. Incredibly moving, guaranteed to bring a tear to the eye! The solemn assembly was followed by - what else? - lunch!! Every country had a booth where they would serve national specialities - the children and then the school staff walked around this prodigious buffet, helping themselves - it was all free of charge, of course! What a wonderful event!

I was quite excited when emails for International Day in Dulwich started going around. Since Manasi has a US passport, I'm on the mailing list for both US and India - however since there are far more Americans than Indians here in Suzhou, I was obviously going to be on the India team! So there we were, about 10 Indian women - well, let me correct that - for some reason, India and Bangladesh were to share a stall, so 8 Indian women, and  2 Bangladeshi women - we had a couple of meetings, collected the money for expenses, kind of assigned tasks, so far so good! Then we hit our first snag - our country rep had to go back for India for a medical emergency! Well, I kind of volunteered to take the lead - I know, it's my first year here, I should have just done the 'wait and watch' - but my national pride bursts forth in the weirdest places - and before I knew it I was writing emails and setting up meetings and what not!

Anyone who has ever tried to organize any event with volunteers know how oddly difficult it is! The leader cannot assign tasks - you have to either wait for people to step up, or else very politely try to convince someone to take responsibility. Everyone has a suggestion to make, a better way to do things - and no matter how farfetched the ideas may be, they have to be given serious consideration. Being in charge does not mean that you get to make decisions - it just means that you just became the agony aunt for the entire group, fielding questions about ingredients that go in a particular recipe, or even the weather forecast on the day of the event! Not to mention the demands - being in charge also means that you're everyone's go-to person to request particularly hard to find stuff which, of course, is absolutely critical! All the success, of course, belongs to the group - the failures if any, as always, are totally the fault of the leader! What a thankless job - why do it then, right? For the sheer thrill of watching things fall into place as planned! Forget the credit - who needs that? - all the frustration is totally worth the sigh of relief at the end of the day for a job well done!

Long story short, I was in charge - and definitely not finding it easy going! Then the Bird Flu scare started - so no poultry could be served! The menu we had planned was really chicken heavy - chicken tikka, chicken kebabs, chicken curry - you name it! So we were back to square one - scrambling to come up with a vegetarian menu which would appeal to the crowds! For unlike UN Day in Chennai, International Day at Dulwich was a charity fundraiser - not only did we have to make the food, we also had to sell it! The final menu that everyone agreed to - paneer frankies, idli-chutney, veg spring rolls, gulab jamun and mint lemonade - quite impressive, even if I say it myself! Besides the food stall, we also had to make a 'country basket' - a basket of local handicrafts and foods, which would be auctioned off - again for charity! We were initially planning to put on a dance for the cultural show, but since our erstwhile leader was also our choreographer, that had to scrapped - although, she did promise that her daughter would perform a solo!

International Day dawned bright and sunny - since it had rained non-stop pretty much the entire week before, that was a relief! Our India/Bangladesh stall was colorfully decorated with flags, posters, and ethnic bedspreads! I had managed to wangle a few 'Incredible India' posters from the Indian consulate in Shanghai, so those went up as well! This year, for the first time, Dulwich College had decided to do a parade - not just for the kids, but for everyone! A Chinese dragon would lead the parade - followed by the countries in alphabetical order! This led to a few (unintentionally) funny emails - a couple of parents were vehemently opposed to marching behind the dragon, apparently because the dragon is a pagan image! Really, people? Get over it - sometimes a dragon is just a dragon, and not a symbol of anything at all! The parade was a bit uneven, and it really should have ended with a finale having everyone on the field at the same time, with all different flags and costumes! That would have been quite the sight! As it was, we walked in at one end, and then just walked across waving our little flags, feeling just a tiny bit silly!

The India contingent!

The rest of the day, was quite literally, a blur! In our booth - selling food, collecting coupons, stamping 'passports' with India and Bangladesh stamps! We had a lot of disappointed customers who came looking for 'curry' - but nonetheless, we sold out pretty quickly! By the time I could leave to take a walk around the other stalls, most of the food was gone! Don't know if it was just too many people this year, or if everyone just had less food! Our sole representative at the cultural show, a little girl of 8, performed an amazing Bollywood number! It would have been so much if we had been able to put on a bigger show! Just like 'curry', Bollywood, too is extremely popular!

Went home after clean up - totally exhausted! It had been a good event - actually, much better than what I was expecting! Lots of lessons learned for next year - and to be honest, I would really like to be country lead for next year, too - and I would most definitely like to head start on a lot of things instead of waiting for next year! For now, I'm just happy that we didn't run into any serious issues, and that we did our bit in contributing to the astounding 200,000RMB raised that day! As for next year, que sera sera...