Chinese New Year and the Lantern Festival

The world outside is blowing up. Literally. Fireworks in every direction. We have two balconies in our apartment, north and south, and we can see blazes of fire from each one. It's a whole fireworks show that's been going on for the past hour and should intensify as the night goes on.

Milo is about to have a nervous breakdown. He's pacing back and forth, on the couch, on the windowsill, out to the front door. He can see the lights but then there are certain sounds that he just doesn't know where they are coming from. He's getting a good work out at least.

Today is the 15th day of the lunar calendar in China and it's the last night of Chinese New Year Celebrations. (Can I get a What...What?!). It's the Lunar Festival where they light tons of red lanterns along the streets and light fireworks because it's the last night to celebrate. I mean power to the Chinese people and all that and congratulations that they seem to be the 2nd largest economy and yay for the Year of the Rabbit but I've been thinking....

You know how in the US, every year animal rights groups urge people not overdo it and impulsively buy a cute bunny for their child on Easter? Every year thousands of rabbits die because about two weeks later, the kid doesn't want it anymore... and Bop! on the head of a little Bunny Foo-Foo somewhere... and we have rabbit stew...

Ok, I am exaggerating a little...

But just imagine how many MILLIONS of rabbits were bought this year in China to fulfill the desires of little Chinese children everywhere this New Year.

Just food for thought... or is it thought for food?

Back from Africa

Well, it's been almost two days since we returned. We quickly unpacked on the evening of our return. Yesterday morning we headed to the train station to pick up Milo in Shanghai but we missed the train by literally seconds. The next train was two hours away so I reluctantly asked Chase to go by himself while I stayed in Hangzhou to get a few last-minute things done before I go back to work.

I went grocery shopping, answered a bunch of emails, and did some Spring cleaning. Boy, that felt good.

Chase returned with Milo in one piece after a big ordeal of sneaking him through security to get on the high-speed train. He was told several times by people that he was very lucky to have not been caught. And several police officers and guards were really cautioning him not to do that again. Milo will not be traveling by train in the future.

Now, we're back on the routine and Milo and I went on our weekly walk around the Westlake this morning. I have some work in my classroom this afternoon and besides that will be just enjoying my last day before school starts tomorrow.

By the way, Africa was great. I don't have any pictures yet because on the third day of our trip, Chase dropped our camera into the Okavango Delta and, well, .... at least we had a backup camera, but no pictures of the great wildlife we saw. He says the memory card is somewhere but I am weary of this. Hopefully we can find the memory card and retrieve what's on there because we saw amazing scenery, wildlife, and had many great memories.

Milo's Big Week

Recently, Milo's been in a string of mishaps. First his foot was stepped on, then he got a bad haircut again. Well, it was a good cut, but just a little too short for the winter snow we had recently. And so he's been freezing and refuses to come out of bed each morning dreading the cold living room. He's like his Dad and prefers sleep-ins. I literally have to drag him out, carry him, hold him for a few minutes while he shivers on my lap and I'm putting some clothes on him. But when we're outside he's fine. I think he just likes to be dramatic. HA!

Here's a pictures of how most Chinese people prefer to hold their dogs, especially poodles like Milo that look almost like teddy bears. There's literally no support under their hips and the dogs are just dangling. I've also seen people pick up their bunny rabbits by their ears.... I have no idea if this is good or not, but it seems to me that behind the neck would be the best. Anyways...

And then this happened..... Buddy's wearing the CONE OF SHAME! I kid. He really doesn't mind it all. It only bothers him when he has to make turns and bumps into furniture he can't see. It's quite funny really to hear him bonk around in the other room. So the reason why he's wearing the cone is because he has a a foot infection on one of his toes. Some sort of bacteria got to his skin and the vet said.... through my mediocre understanding of the chinese language... that it's a kind of bacteria. So I assume he meant fungus and so Milo has to wear this cone to keep him from licking his entire foot off... which he was attempting to do over the course of two days. He's on day seven of the medication and cone and has three more days left. I must say he's healed up very nicely and I'm glad we caught it before it spread to any other toes.

And finally today, we embark on a trip with Milo to Shanghai where we will drop him off at a boarding facility for the next two weeks while we are in Botswana and S. Africa for our honeymoon. (That was a long sentence). I have never boarded any of my pets and I really have been in denial that we are actually leaving him at a kennel. But I found what I have been told is the best kennel in Shanghai. You might be asking why didn't I find one in Hangzhou. Well, they don't exist. Chinese people who have dogs tend to be the older generation and if they go somewhere they have a large network of family and friends that could care for their pets. Expats who have pets, don't have such a great network tend to live in Shanghai anyways, so that's where the kennel is. Expats also tend to go on longer trips that need this kind of service. That being said, last night at the vet in Hangzhou, we did see their boarding facility, which is just a room full of cages, but they also have another empty room that they said they could board Milo in. We might consider it since we will travel a bit this spring for shorter trips.

The boarding place in Shanghai is in the countryside on a big piece of land so the dogs can be let out, run around, use the obstacle course, etc. They have different kinds of kennels. Some with an indoor/outdoor run and some just indoors with aircon/heating. Milo will of course be in a heated room. (See first paragraph of blog entry for clarification).

So in order to deal with my anxieties, it struck me this morning that I should just think of it as Milo's just going to Doggy Chinese New Year Camp! He'll have his own room (not just a cage), he'll get to play each day, use the obstacle course, eat with his buddies, be outdoors, etc. I even heard that there's a webcam of the play yard and you can go and see how your dog is doing. We won't have internet for the first 5 days of our trip but maybe I'll have to check up on him after that.

If this trial run goes well, we might think about sending Milo to Doggy Summer Camp this July when we are in the US. So that's Milo's big week. He's growing up, that little buddy of ours.

And.... We're Back!!!

It's been months! Finally I sat myself down, re-downloaded VPN software, read tutorials, went into places in my computer hard drive I didn't know existed and got back online into the real world of online... where there's freedom. This new service should be faster so I hope I won't lag behind on blogging.

So a big shout out and hello! to everyone.... if there is anyone who's out there reading my blog.

WOW

I just found out today that I was accepted into the AMI Training of Trainers program! That means.... well, what does that mean? I guess you could say that it's the opportunity for me to take another step into refining my understanding of the beauty of Montessori.

Yoga philosophy also emphasizes that the number one reason we practice yoga (or insert practice Montessori) is so that we can have a Revelation/to see the Universal/and further Align ourselves with the Divine. And in the terms of Montessori theory, that Divine is seen in the child and is the miracle of the child. The second reason why we practice is so that we can be more skillful, artistic, and fruitful in our celebration of life. We are here to enjoy it, so why not hone our skills and make more beauty come alive within us and within others?

For when we cultivate more wisdom we deepen our experience leading to a more rich and delightful time. So yay! I am getting the opportunity to grow more beauty and have an even more meaningful experience with children (and maybe as a future trainer, with adults!).

Nope, Nothing to Report, Nada

You'll just have to wait longer. I know you're dying to see pics from Zach and Jackie's visit over here, but there's absolutely no way I can download the pics from the camera to my laptop.

So we wait. Until Chase gets back that is. He's the only one who can solve this mystery of where the pluggy thing went (the USB thing that you need to connect the camera to the laptop, yeah, that one). In fact, he still might even have it packed away and whisked away to Paris on his business trip.

Who knows.

At least the anticipation will build and you'll be even more amazed with my amateur photography skills when you do get to see the pictures.... of us drinking way too many glasses of champagne, at least that's all I felt we drank for almost two weeks....

Cheers!

Milo, the Sensorial Ambassador

Milo weighs approximately 12 pounds and most that is his poofy hair. Which by the way, he's got a new haircut and is looking more manly than his bad haircut of '10 which left him looking more like a princess than a rock star that Chase and I are grooming (pun intended, HA) to be.

But really, he's a little poodle with a big heart and loves everyone he's met. So it's baffling that when walking him on the streets and trails in Hangzhou, we get shrieks, halts in traffic, and people skidding across the pavement to avoid a confrontation with our more manly looking pooch. Girls are literally climbing over each other and act like you laid a dead rat on their open toed heels.

I love my dog. So being a good mother, I naturally give them dirty looks and tell them to relax in my mediocre Chinese. He's just a dog. He doesn't bite. And remember the 12 pounds? Almost 5 times smaller than the average Chinese girl!

The situation worsens when parents are with their children. They are naturally protective of their babies (sometimes even up to 12 years old, but the parents still treat them like 3 year olds.... another rant for later). Parents usually create a fear in the children when Milo and I are about 30 yards out and the children are often sent scampering behind the adult. This really gets to me, because it's a cultural fear. They just tell the children to stay away from dogs either because they are dangerous or because they are considered dirty.

So I've gone out of my way to stop, talk with them, especially directly to the child and introduce Milo to them. I even had a 10 year old tell me that I was lying to him that and that if he listened to me and petted Milo, it would still bite him. Outrageous.

Now I understand that Honeymuffer, extraordinary dog that she is, would not be as predictable around little ones because from a young age, I never had the chance to socialize her. She thinks little children look more and more like squirrels each day and would be good for herding and chasing. Well, Milo on the other hand grew up in a household of three children. So he's definitely primed for being what I call the Sensorial Ambassador.

Let me explain, I believe that each time I allow a child to pet Milo (maybe he's even their first dog to pet), that they experience something Sensorially that his/her parents aren't allowing them to experience. They rub his tail, maybe even grab and tug on it lightly. They feel the warmth of his body and the wetness of his tongue. These are all sensorial experiences that children in China are being robbed of.

Rarely do you see children here playing and looking for tadpoles. Even the grass here is off limits because parents think it will get them dirty or that there are too many chemicals sprayed all over. So when do children ever get to feel grass under their feet? Or when do they play in sandboxes? When do they experience having a pet in their household?

The way that animals are viewed is that they are merely a food source. Even in zoos, right here in Hangzhou, for example, children visiting throw rocks, sticks, trash at the caged animals. When they see a fish, they think of how good it is to eat. So Milo and I continue to break the barriers of ignorance, prejudice, and try to show children how wonderful it is to have a relationship with an animal.

Hopefully this will cause a shift in the way that parents allow children to interact with the world around them. The more experiences children have with nature, the more sensorially aware they are.