How do you get to Wonderland?

How do you get to Wonderland? Over the hill and under the land, and then swim through an Ocean of tears - well, if you're Alice, that is! Here in Suzhou, Wonderland came to us - 2 evenings in a row at the Dulwich College Theatre!! That's right - the Junior School Production this year - drumroll, please - Alice in Wonderland!!

The front cover of the program

Year 3 and Year 4 - Annie and Aladdin - Manasi has been on stage both years, and she really wanted to do Production this year, too. I was, however, a bit reluctant - it is a huge commitment of time, homework suffers, weekends are gone, and school lessons are missed - seems like too much to be just part of the chorus. I know, I wasn't being much of a sport - and if every parent felt the way I did, there would be no production at all - I just felt like she had paid her dues, and that it was time to concentrate on something else. So, we reached a compromise - I told Manasi she could do it if she was able to land a speaking part!

My little one always dreams big - love her for that - so she auditioned for the plum role of Queen of Hearts. She practiced non-stop - we could hear 'Silence!!!' and 'Off with her head!!' thundering through the house at all odd hours - I was really ready for the auditions to be done with. She didn't get the Queen, but she did get the role of the Dodo Bird, the Admiral of the Queen's Navy - 2 songs, 4 scenes, about 10 lines of dialogue - there was nothing left for me to do but say yes. So there she was, a part of the 'Main Cast'!! Interestingly, this year, our director Ms SS, announced there would be 2 Main Casts, one for each night of the performance. Seemed like a lot of extra work for her - but would also let more kids get 'important' roles!!

'Alice in Wonderland' is wonderfully complicated - a host of quirky characters, exotic backdrops and an absolutely nonsensical plot! Alice changes sizes - that is taken care of on the stage by having Alice played by 3 girls - Little Alice, Medium Alice and Large Alice. In addition to the 3 Alices, the Main Cast comprises of the White Rabbit and Queen if Hearts, of course, and then the Cheshire Cat (also played by 3 kids, Head, Body & Tail), the Mad Hatter, the March Hare, the Tweedles, the Caterpillar, Flowers, King of Hearts, the Doorknob and the Dodo bird. And yes, 2 sets of all these characters!! Most of Manasi's friends were also in the Main Cast - right here in GL, we had 2 White Rabbits, a Little Alice, a pair of Tweedles, a Flower and of course my Dodo (absolutely not a pun!).

Rehearsals were in full swing all the way up to the Christmas break. I did think that the rehearsals were a lot lesser than they had been the preceding years. Only Saturday mornings, instead of all day on Saturday and Sunday - and the kids weren't being pulled out of class either. But everyone seemed pretty confident!! Then the 3 week break - I'm sure the teachers were agonizing that all the kids were going to forget everything - and that they would be back to square one with barely 4 weeks left before the show. That didn't happen - although, a very different problem did arise over the Christmas break - something totally unexpected!!

While on vacation in Europe, Ms SS's bag was stolen - along with her passport, computer and everything else!! Sounds like one of those hoax emails going around, doesn't it - except this time, it was true! Poor thing, she was stranded - had to get an emergency passport and then the Chinese visa processed - not to mention all the stress!! She finally made it back to Suzhou a full 2 weeks after school started - and while her very able team had kept rehearsals going, it was quite a setback to have her gone for so long. As the week of the show approached, still no all-day rehearsals - quite mystifying, really!! But they did manage to rally magnificently!!

The dress rehearsals were nerve-racking - the kids seemed a bit shaky, and the stage managers a bit frazzled - but they still had one more day to work out the kinks!! And as always, the night of the show, the kids rose to the occasion and performed magnificently!!! Sure, there were a few forgotten dialogues and a few missed cues - but it is incredible how much these kids can achieve! Under the arc-lights on the stage, dressed in full costume and make-up, facing a packed auditorium - it is miraculous that they neither falter nor stumble, and sing and dance with a grace that many adults would find impossible - me included, put me on a stage and I turn into a blubbering idiot!! Here are some pictures from the show...

Dodo Bird

The very sassy flowers!

Alice!

                                   

Cheshire Cat

Monarch of the seas!

The hilarious Tweedles

Golden Afternoon

Simon says...

The three Alices

I was a little more involved in the show this year - helped with the costumes, and then backstage helping the kids get dresses. As can be seen from the pictures, the costumes were pretty elaborate - and while some were easy enough to buy, many had to be made - intrepid parents with nimble fingers to the rescue - no, no, absolutely not me! One of the friends, MW, is an absolute genius when it comes to designing and creating costumes - and my help was limited to cutting and glueing (unskilled labor!) under her supervision! The Mad Hatter, March Hare and the White Rabbit costumes were made by her - and so were costumes for lobsters, fish and the irresistible bird wings and helmets!! The Flower dresses were made by another parent, and they turned out to be amazing too!! The gorgeous costumes were definitely a highlight of the show!!

And helping out backstage - how much fun was that!! Exhausting, true - but just so much fun!! Handing out the costumes, helping the kids into them, running around trying to locate a spare white shirt - that was just the start. The dress rehearsal helped calm my nerves a bit - at least I knew what to expect on the night of the performance! Obviously, I watched the show with Manasi in it, and helped the second night! But even as part of the audience, I was constantly watching - did everyone make it on stage in time, do all the cards have white makeup, ooh the caterpillar's hood fell off - just couldn't switch it off!! There were a couple of really, really quick costume changes that had all us 'helpers' on tenterhooks - but fortunately, everything went smoothly on both nights, no slip-ups! Whew!!

It was definitely an eye-opener to be backstage - unbelievable how much activity takes place behind the scenes - an organized chaos of sorts - and then the complete contrast on stage, where everything is bright and shiny and perfect!! Was really gratifying to see all that hard work pay off - and I think Manasi was delighted that I was around - that alone was worth everything! It is all about the kids, isn't it?? And I know I should be more dignified about this - but I was thrilled to see my name in the program - don't judge, this is a first for me, so it's kind of a big deal!! The beautiful flowers were a nice surprise, too!!

It is a huge undertaking to put on this kind of show - and it is our wonderful Dulwich staff that makes it happen year after year, better every year!! All their hard work, working with the kids, bringing out their best - requires a lot of patience and dedication, and these teachers give it their all!! I was very happy to be a part of the team and see first-hand the amount of effort put in - simply amazing!! Rumor has it that next year will see Lion King on stage at Dulwich - but for now, I'm still lost in Wonderland!! 

Cruise to Taiwan - Part 1

Ok, this post was supposed to follow my Hong Kong post - remember the one in October? So, yes, I know - this is really, really late - never could find the 'write' time - and still working on the procrastination issue. So why now - well 2 reasons - first, I do want to post this before our next vacation, and second, my memories are getting kind of blurry, the longer I wait, the shorter this post will be - I have visions of a one-liner - "We went on a cruise to Taiwan, and I really had a great time!" Now, that  wouldn't be much fun, would it? So here goes - our October vacation, a cruise to Taiwan!

Royal Caribbean's 'Voyager of the Seas'

Cruises - I absolutely love cruises!! Our first one was several years ago, when we lived in France - and I have been hooked ever since! Seriously, what's not to love?? Totally prepaid - I'm not denying it is pricey - but once you've paid, everything is included!! Travel without driving - no road maps, no looking for directions!! All meals on the ship - no hunting for McDonalds or Pizza Hut each place we go to!! And not just any meals - lavish buffets for breakfast and lunch, and an elaborate, fancy sit-down dinner every night!! Kid's Club - a fancy word for babysitting services - woohoo, the adults can get some serious sight-seeing done - or maybe, just relax with a drink on the deck!! Various other planned activities to keep you entertained every minute - and the piece de resistance, mind-blowing shows every night!! As I said, what's not to love?!!

We celebrated our 10th anniversary with our 2nd cruise, and ever since we moved here, I've been looking for the next one - finally, the search ends with Taiwan!! Our cruise line of choice is Royal Caribbean, we've always had a wonderful experience with them, their website is easy to navigate, and their vacation planners are really helpful. On board, the crew is extremely solicitous and ready to go the extra mile - can I just say how much I love the turn-down service? But the deal-clincher - most of the crew is Indian, and the kitchens make Indian food every night - so above and beyond the menu, my daal-bhat loving foodie husband gets a special meal every night!! A word of caution, though - Royal Caribbean is not responsible for getting you visas for the countries on your itinerary - you're on  your own for that! For Taiwan - US citizens require no visa (a big surprise there!), but Indian citizens need a valid US or Japanese visa to apply for Taiwan visa.

Ready to board!

Our ship was to depart from Hongkong at 5pm and boarding started at 11am. Once the formalities were completed, and we were finally on board - I never remember the tedious waiting in line!! We were soon to realize that this cruise was slightly, just a tad different from the ones we've been on before. On boarding day, a buffet lunch is available until the ship sets sail - I remember checking into our cabin, strolling along the deck, getting a bite to eat - not this time! The dining room entrance was a scene of total chaos - passengers pushing, shoving to get inside - the crew on duty pleading in vain that all seats were taken, and could everyone come back in 30 minutes. A barricade had been put across the doors, but the unruly crowd soon broke through these barriers - running to the food counters as if they had been starved for a week.

The same story inside - people rushing from place to place, heaping their plates with more and more - as if the food would disappear if they didn't hurry. And the waste - oh the prodigious waste! To be honest, I had noticed the wasting of food on our previous cruises too - but on this one, it took on a whole new dimension. It was quite enough to make me completely lose my appetite. What was the difference? Take 3 guesses - it is a Chinese holiday, and the cruise is departing from Hongkong - I don't have to spell it out, do I?? All the public areas were the same - especially anywhere food was being served. It was pretty obvious that all our co-cruisers were out to get their money's worth for sure!! After being jostled and elbowed one time too many, we gave up and beat a hasty retreat to our cabin.

This year, I had splurged on a stateroom with a balcony - and it made such a huge difference. A couple of deck chairs, a good book (luckily for me, the only deserted area on the ship was the library!), the ocean swirling all around - the start of a perfect vacation. The stateroom itself was also a bit larger, a pullout couch for Manasi instead of overhead bunk beds, a bigger TV. Seriously, I can't say this enough - cruises are AWESOME!!! The Outside staterooms have a porthole, so plenty of light - and they are perfectly good if you are able to spend most of your time on the main decks - for this particular cruise, the balcony was a god-send!! We've also tried the Inside staterooms before - these are of course the cheapest option, but wouldn't really recommend them - the room gets dark as pitch, electric lights needed all the time!

Our stateroom

Upper deck

The Promenade

Library

Dining room

Chilling on our balcony

Now that I'm done waxing eloquent about the ship, I guess I should get to Taiwan? Although, strangely enough, I started off thinking that I wouldn't remember enough to write an entire post - and now, here I am considering splitting this up - save the actual Taiwan sightseeing for a follow-up post! I do so love cliffhangers!! So don't go anywhere - Taiwan coming up in (fingers crossed) no time at all!! Meantime, go look up the cruise website - your dream vacation is only a click away!!

Resolutions, resolutions

January is always a month of possibilities - the new year stretching ahead invitingly, 365 brand new days full of hope, so many memories to be made, so many adventures waiting to happen. Yes, January is a month of possibilities - and also of introspection and reflection. A time to think of the year that was - a time to cherish the good times and bad, opportunities taken and lost, mistakes made and rewards earned. So, possibilities - and inevitably, resolutions!! New Year resolutions - so very easy to make, and so incredibly hard to keep - and yet, year after year...

So let's see - what shall I promise to do this year? Why yes, less procrastination? This always seems to be at the top of my list - and yet, somehow I haven't managed to get on top of it. It's sad, really - quite amazing how much I can accomplish when I get going - it's the getting going that's so hard. But resolutions must be kept - so after procrastinating for the first 20 days of the month, I'm saying enough - I'm already waaay behind on my next resolution...

...which is the same as last years's - at least 3 posts per month for the blog. And stretching that one just a bit - perhaps try to hit a 100 in the first 6 months? Seems doable, right? As soon as I get back on track for January!! It's funny - my head is always buzzing with all these ideas - I wish I had a device that would transcribe my thoughts straight to my computer - would save me so much time, and I would be cranking out those posts...sigh, until then, I'll keep chipping away, one post at a time!!

Another all-time resolution favorite - fitness!! I've been through my share of love-hate relationships with gyms - over the years, starting with yoga and badminton in school all the way to personal trainers in Chennai - been there  and done it all!! It wasn't until last year, though - my 37th, no wait, 38th (silent screaming) birthday - and also watching my mom, mom-in-law, and various aunts struggling with a wide range of health issues - that it sunk in - I have maybe a couple of years to get in shape, and hopefully avoid a lot of pain in the future!

As if on cue, a new gym opened up in Link City across the street! Seemed like providence!! After signing up for an annual membership in August, it was a long wait till the gym opened its doors - almost end of October!! And then, back to the love-hate - going to the gym is actually such a weird experience - narcissistic and sadistic at the time. All those mirrored walls, reflecting your every move - and everyone else's too!! Anyway, it's quite a decent gym really, and I go the first thing in the morning - so no crowds. I think pretty good odds on keeping this resolution...

To tie in with this, is the resolution to eat better - even though, we do eat quite healthy by default here in China. Still, those empty calories do have a way of sneaking in - and snacking healthy is high on my priority list this year. Another culprit - breakfast - what should be the healthiest meal of the day, turns into a sugary, starchy meal especially for Manasi - thanks to all those boxes of cereal. So I've been rousing myself 15 minutes earlier everyday and cooking a hot breakfast - and to avoid temptation, I've simply stopped buying cereal altogether! So far so good, and do share any interesting breakfast ideas!

On a more serious note - my last resolution. Might seem a little simplistic - try to be a little nicer this year. Give people the benefit of doubt, withhold judgement, hold back on the caustic comments. This is not simple as it sounds - and while I do know that I'm probably as nice as the next person, I also know that I could be a lot better. As my sister loses no opportunity to point out, my 'age' (silent screaming again) has made me quite cranky and impatient with foibles - so this year is for taking the deep breath, counting to 10, and learning to forgive people for being - well, people!

Happy New Year, everyone!