Two Perspectives, One Outcome

When God blessed me with two children, I never imagined that they would be so different from one another.

Rachel, my oldest, is a smart, extroverted adventure-seeker.  She makes friends wherever she goes, seeks out new experiences and is one of the hardest working students you’ll ever meet.  Since we’ve been in Guangzhou, she has ridden a roller coaster that loops 10 times, taken a Bubble Tram on top of the world’s third tallest tower, introduced us to our neighbors and decided she is running for class president.  Rachel takes after my husband Rob in so many ways.

Robby, is my precise, analytical, curious little boy.  Everyone he meets is a stranger, until proven otherwise.  Once he’s determined you’re ‘in the clear’, then watchout!   Be ready to communicate what you have planned for the day – and stick to it.  You should also be prepared to answer random question he’s pondering.  Just this week, Robby has asked me:  “are there any Chinese words that don’t have vowels?”, “why don’t calluses bleed?” and “why are my toes different sizes?”.   Google is our best parenting resource with this kid.

When Rachel was riding that roller coaster, Robby and I were eating snacks while he asked me a million questions about the ride .  While Rachel and Rob were atop the Canton tower – Robby and I were having lunch at McDonalds. While Rachel was writing her speech for president,  Robby was figuring out the quickest way to whiz through his reading for the night.  Robby is a lot like my father; except for the snacking, that’s all me!

This week, Rachel and Robby, with perspectives that are uniquely their own, started school in China.

The kids attend the American International School of Guangzhou (AISG). The school provides an American-style education, enhanced by an international perspective.  The language of instruction is English, but they take Mandarin everyday (which they love!).  They can join the Lego club, but also choose the Chinese book club. About a quarter of the students are from the US, but a good number are from other parts of Asia.  Their classroom teachers are from the US, but the gym teacher is from Australia, and the teaching assistants are primarly from China.

And they both loved their new school, in their own way.

Rachel gushed about how nice the students were, how many friends she had already made (on the first day), was able to name every girl in her class, loved the book selection at the library and had a playdate with a neighbor friend right after school.  She was looking forward to digging into her studies and hanging out with all her besties on Day 2.

Robby got off the bus with his head in a familiar book, telling me that he’d already taken care of the reading homework on the bus ride home.  He was excited that he had also made a friend, someone who told riddles like him, and figured he’d learn the other kids names’ later in the week.  And, while he was a bit concerned they didn’t cover math on Day One like he expected, he was relieved when Math came as scheduled on Day 2.

We couldn’t be happier that even with their differing personalities, our children can agree that school is off to a great start!

PS – Check out some school pictures, and pictures from the Canton Tower on the picture page!