I’ve posted several times now how happy we are with BISS, and we are.  It has great facilities, wonderful teachers, happy kids… and hot, decent lunches including broccoli, rice, beef, pizza, etc. (nice break for me; I’m not scrambling to pack lunches every morning… ).

This week the girls had “student led conferences” where they got to show us all that they are doing and learning, and Art and I came away duly impressed.  I think they are both right on track with (and likely ahead of) the California curriculum, and so have no qualms about what they might be missing back home.  They both have Chinese class in addition to the full British curriculum, Elle’s made strides in reading, Cece’s been writing a bit more and was recently in a play (as a robot named Toot), and both girls now have swimming as part of their PE classes.  This I was able to observe earlier in the week as a parent chaperone.  The entire class hops on a BISS bus with the PE teacher (a young Tiger Woods-look-alike from the Phillipines; there is no nicer PE teacher on the planet) and heads over to the Hilton just 7 minutes away.  There they meet up with two additional swim coaches and the entire group takes over the Hilton swimming pool.  I have no idea how they’ve worked this out with the Hilton (no complaints from guests?), but it seems to work.  And for the kids who know how to swim, it’s a great work out.  I love swim days…

The BISS school day is a little longer than our elementary day back home.  Here the girls go from 8:15 until 3:15 (7 hours versus 6 hours at home).  Plus several days a week they have “ASAs” (after school activities such as outdoor recreation, knitting and cooking) and on those afternoons stay until 4:20.  Add to this the commuting time in both directions and it really is a much longer day.  They’ve adjusted just fine and all in all, are having a great school experience.

BISS is actually “Beijing BISS International,” aka the Beijing campus of the original British International School of Shanghai.  The Beijing campus was opened 16 or 17 years ago and has been growing steadily.  They follow a “unit of inquiry” structure and “aim to develop globally minded citizens” who are independent learners.  I like that.

Somehow haven’t snapped a picture yet of the girls and their teachers, but plenty of time for that.  The pictures below were taken in and around BISS, in the An Zhen Xi Li neighborhood where you can happen upon just about anything… from a brand new Porche Cayenne to a 70-year-old man on a 60-year-old bicycle delivering round bricks of coal for the old coal furnaces still used to heat many buildings here.

There are two parks near BISS that I pass through when walking to or from the Beitucheng subway station.  The park nearest the station and alongside the canal I especially like.  The canal had been frozen for our first three weeks at BISS, but is thawed now, and the park is coming to life.  For China friends who have read the book Mei Mei Loves the Morning(500 times or so as I have) this is one of those parks where Chinese grandpas congregate in the morning.  On bicycles and in covered motorcycles they bring jars and thermoses of tea along with their caged birds which they hang in the trees while they sit and talk and play games for hours.  Keeping birds appears to be a popular hobby with retirees.  Am keeping this in mind for Artie one day…

The other park (I call it Confucius Park) is older and is nestled inside the maze of apartment buildings in An Zhen Xi Li.  Here too retirees gather to dance, exercise and play cards intently, also for hours.  Below is a picture of the Friday Afternoon Bridge Club.  I realize it’s probably not Bridge that they’re playing, but these women are serious, dedicated card players.  Will find out what the game is…

…. to think about what they’ve seen/endured in their lifetimes… from Mao and the cultural revolution to Deng Xiaoping and one child policies….. to today’s rapidly growing consumerism and astonishingly present technology… China’s impact on the global economy… and an emerging middle class…

They all wear cardigan sweaters they’ve had since 1969 (I know because I’ve seen them without their padded coats)… carry iPhones and smart phones and rely on text messages… dote on their sole grandchildren, and now their sole great grandchildren.  Incidentally, in China women are required to retire at 55, men at 60.  Some professions extend this and a fair number of people seem to work longer, but mandatory early retirements ensure jobs for the younger generation…

Friday Bridge Club...

The woman at 12:00 is about to blitz...

Confucius... an ethicist for all time...

The Chinese build lovely parks with lots of wandering paths, seating, and covered areas like this shade prototype that I like. Parks are spotless and pleasant. No graffiti, no gangs. Very controlled...

Signs for the "foreigners schools"...

There is also a great elementary school in this neighborhood... the yellow caps are part of their uniform. Kids gather at this stand in the park for after school snacks...

All over Beijing, great fresh fruit is plentiful and cheap. This is one of the fruit ladies near BISS...

Just tubers...

Coal delivery, via bicycle...

Near the canal park, you can walk along this original wall built by the Mongols, centuries ago...

History...

Nice to run into a lab here...

The frozen canal...

Men gathering in the morning...

Nice morning out for the birds...

Pampered birds hang all over this park in the morning...