St. David's Connection

     Last Spring, when we made the decision to move to China, I discovered that one of my former students was going to be in Beijing this fall on a foreign study semester.  Caitlin Andrews was one of my favorite students from my first year at St. David's.  This past week, Joergen and I had to be at school for a teacher work week. Our kids were going to be on their own, so we asked Caitlin to come be our nanny for the week, as her classes have not started yet.  She moved in, and immediately became part of the family.

     While we were at school, Caitlin, Anne-Katrine, and Lars set out to explore Beijing.  On Monday they decided to check out the subway, taking it to one of the big city parks. There, people were fascinated by seeing two blond children, many wanting to take pictures with them.  Fortunately, Caitlin speaks some Mandarin and was able to fend off the curious crowd.   To cool down, they decided to get ice cream, and soon discovered several new flavors--corn and green pea to name a few!  Katrine says corn is not her favorite ice cream flavor!

eewww, corn flavored ice-cream!

Lars is going to be in this guy's photo album!

     On another day, the threesome went to the Blue Zoo,  a well known Beijing aquarium. Afterwards they hit Ya-show market, a fabulous indoor market selling knock offs of name brand items.  You can buy anything and everything there. Lars has his eye on sunglasses, while AK is going to go crazy over fake Ugg boots and designer bags.
      Caitlin has been so wonderful with the kids--we don't know what we would have done with out her. Anne-Katrine has felt like she has a big sister for a week. Lars might not have survived Beijing traffic without Caitlin's watchful eye--just trying to cross the street can be a harrowing experience.  Lars has also kept Caitlin entertained with his goofy dance moves and  general silliness--likewise, she has impressed him with stories of spearfishing and her knowledge of baseball.  We are sad that Caitlin will soon leave to move into her dorm at the university, but we know we will continue to see her while she is here over the next several months. Mostly we are sad to lose someone who can actually convince Lars to brush his teeth!