Arts & Crafts & Running

This week was a big turn around for Violet. On Monday, she reported that school was "excellent" and that the work is "hard, but that makes it fun". She's overcome her anxiety about not knowing how to do everything perfectly; and, in embracing a "give it a go" attitude, she's realized that she's actually doing excellent with all of the academic work. Socially, she's also made major strides. I didn't appreciate just how much the cultural differences in her classmates would impact her. For the first few weeks of school, Violet convinced herself that the girls in her class didn't like her. Violet's teacher keenly realized that Violet expected bold reciprocation of her friendship attempts, whereas the cultures of many of her peers are more reserved. We had several discussions about cultural differences and how to look for more subtle signs of friendship. This dramatically improved Violet's outlook and understanding of her peers and the new relationships she was forming. Plus, from what I can tell, her classmates have very much warmed to her gregarious nature and are now quite sweet and friendly, even if in a more reserved way than we are used to. At assembly this week, the school played a clip of Violet where she was interviewed about the upcoming cross county race. Vi's teacher reported it was a great scene at assembly with all the girls that were sitting near Violet smiling and leaning over to hug her with excitement and encouragement!

Violet's class is studying animal habitats. All children came to school dressed as an animal from their selected habitat. All the Year 3 classes joined together and then divided into habitat groups (so, for Violet, aka cheetah, the grasslands animals got together). The habitat group went to one classroom and transformed the classroom into their habitat. Then the kids rotated among the transformed classrooms to determine - and write on clipboards - why they could or could not live in the habitat they were visiting.

Much as he was in K1 at Park, Tyler has continued to blossom as a charmer. I feel a bit foolish that I was concerned about his transition here. He's jumped into school never missing a beat. His teacher reports that he's a model of manners and an excellent listener (what? can you please transfer some of this great behavior to home?!?). His academics are all on par and far excel in math; and, he's very comfortable in his new social circles. He's got a best buddy in his class, I., who his teacher reports is a very nice boy and a great match for Tyler. Several times I've found them in the library relaxing on a beanbag reading together. Tyler has also mastered his classmates' names. With so many non-western names, this is actually a major accomplishment in a few short weeks. Seriously, I have to ask parents to please say their names several times as I attempt to repeat, and Americanize/butcher their names. I'm also quite proud that he's taken to squatting -- check out the sandbox picture where he was playing with his buddy J after school. Love these subtle Asian influences. This also led to a super funny conversation with another Year 1 mom over coffee. She's Japanese and really didn't believe that most "western" adults have lost the ability to squat. The British mums there wholeheartedly confirmed. And yes - I did a full on demo, including falling backward. Now the two of us have a plan next week to get together for a yoga class!

In other news... The reality of early rise hours for school has sadly crushed my fantasy of never cooking while we live in KL. All my experiences of food shopping here had proven that eating out and cooking at home are basically the same cost. Yes, over the summer we ate out nearly every night. When we ate in, we ate leftovers from a restaurant the night before. Coming home for Myanmar, I met a really cool Aussie couple, Josh and Jem, who live in KL not far from us. In our shared cab home from the airport, Josh asked me, "So have you tried Lucky Meat yet?" Dude, we just met. Um, no. So on Wednesday, we got together and went downtown to Lucky Meat, an importer and distributor of top cuts of Australasian beef, lamb, and other imported food items (including Heinze from the USA and cheese, which is super expensive in the grocer). See there's a strategy here for bringing a friend. As it's an importer, you have to buy in bulk - two kilo block of cheddar, anyone? A great thing to split. The meat is half the cost of the grocery. And oh, the steak was the best I've every had. I'm not exaggerating! Lucky Meat is officially added to my shopping rotation.

On Saturday, Brian's colleague, an established Malaysian art collector, invited the four of us to visit his friend's private art collection. Housed in a large four room space below his law practice, art works cover every surface, including many frames still on the ground in packaging stacked up five or six deep. The couple who built and own the collection seek out emerging Malaysian artists. Many of the works in their collection are now extremely important and valuable. Ty loved a painting of a shark. Brian and Violet like the works of an artist that depicts dual/delayed scenes. I was just in awe of the entire place. Brian's colleague and several others have published a few books on Malaysian art and have a new one forthcoming. Check this one out: http://www.rogueart.asia/ra/exhibitions/malaysian-art-friends/

We were up early on Sunday for Violet's cross county race. Garden School hired buses for the ride, so we met at school at 6:15 am for the ride to Alice Smith, another international school in KL. Runners rode on buses together with their gender/age group, while parents and siblings rode on other buses. Getting on the bus, we met up with a family with a Year 1 little girl, so Tyler had a buddy for the ride. The two kids talked and giggled and the girl called Tyler "cheeky" when he was playing around by tapping Brian on the head in the seat in front of them. The bus trip proved excellent for Vi as she came off the bus hugging a new BFF. Violet ran with the U9 girls - so with Year 3 and also Year 4 girls (that's 2nd and 3rd graders). There were over 100 girls running in her race. A Garden School Year 4 girl came in first -- she was so fast that the adult pacer ran out of steam near the end trying to keep ahead of her! Violet had a good race, coming in #27. I confirmed at school this morning that she was the #1 Garden School Year 3 girls placer. She and Brian are already plotting to train for next year's race.

Violet in her Park warm-up sweatshirt

My pinning Violet's first race bid!

Violet with some of the Year 3 racers.

Violet near the finish cheered on by our friends.

It's hard work to be the sibling of a racer. 

After getting home, changing, and going out for Violet's choice lunch (Papa John's, of course!), we headed to the Malaysia Craft Complex (http://www.kraftangan.gov.my/main/) to see a show of Malaysian artisans with the Miller-Wieners. There were some cool exhibits, but the highlight for Violet, J, and A was batiking. Traditional to the region, batik starts with a fabric with wax applied in a design. Then the artist applies dye over the fabric. A stand at the show provided the already waxed fabric on a frame and visitors could try their hand at applying the dye. Violet loved this so much that she made two designs! We decided that the one she's working on in the picture of the KL skyline will be framed for our living room in the US. Tyler did not try, but after seeing J's super cool batik tiger, he said he'd do one next visit. One of the Hopkins' visiting faculty also dyed a most gorgeous fish scene on silk - she called it "adult paint by numbers." This will most certainly be a stop for visitors coming to town.

Of course, if you are at the Craft Complex and you just need that quick souvenir fix, try something from the craft vending machine. Woven purse? Handmade paper? Or how about a hand-carved slingshot for 6 Malaysia ringgit?