Thursday, January 27, 2011

Learnt

3 new phrases today:

Hobson's choice: when there is only one choice or none.

Buridan's ass: example of one who makes no move because he is hungry as he is thirsty and is positioned exactly between food and drink.

Morton's fork: a choice between two equally unpleasant alternatives.

... all part of a day's work!

Thursday, January 20, 2011

On the day snow blanketed Shanghai

I wake up and looked out of the window.
Hey! It's snowing heavily and the ground's covered with a thick blanket of snow!
I wake the boy up and we both looked out of the window, mesmerized by the sheets of tiny frozen capsules, floating down from the skies above.

The boy went to school and came back with A, A and A+10 ... and a B (B for blank!?!)

Am happy he's doing well.

Monday, January 17, 2011

Shanghai Zoo - for grass you can walk on

We decided to go to the zoo yesterday. Not sure what to expect. The 'arctic zoo' we visited in our recent trip to Harbin was depressing so I was semi-prepared to be similarly affected.

We bought the tickets and walked towards the entrance, passing an old man who jiggled his can when we neared him. A signal for loose change. The boy asked, "Why are there so many people asking for money?" I had no answer and did not respond.

But my mood was immediately lifted upon entering the zoo. What greeted me was a nice huge lawn and better yet, no signs warning us against putting our feet on the grass! There weren't many people too! I can almost call it deserted. A very rare thing here in crowded Shanghai.

It must have been crazy for most locals to consider going to the zoo that day. The temperature range was between -2 to 2degrees Celsius. But it turned out to be a not too crazy decision. It wasn't a miserably cold day to be out and about. The sun was shinning and there wasn't much wind.

On looking at this satellite map taken off Google (area where the zoo is circled), I realized why I was so happy. The zoo is one of the few pockets of green in Shanghai! I must have been like the animal released into the wild! No more concrete jungle! Grass you can walk on!


The first exhibit we saw was a man sweeping an empty cage. The boy asked, "What is this?" I replied, "This is a man," in the same tone as I would have said, "This is a monkey." He paused and then laughed. My dear boy.

And then we saw the giant panda ( there was just one) who did nothing but ate bamboo leaves, several 'lesser/red pandas' ( which seemed to be the happiest mammals we saw at the zoo), a gorilla who did nothing but ate, regurgitate, eat the regurgitated food, regurgitate, the whole 3-4 minutes we were there and bears who stood on their hind legs, clasped their paws and grunted for food.

Arh, visitors here bring their own entertainment kits - corn for the birds, peanuts for the primates and toss-able pieces of food for the bigger animals. There are signs prohibiting this but no one around to enforce it.

The environment/enclosures for the birds are really nice - they have nice ponds and waterways. I guess they are better off than the mammals (but the price they pay for that is clipped wings).

Alright. I'd stop. Putting compassion for the animals aside, it's a nice place to visit if you have been trapped in the city for a while.

How to get there: The easiest is to hop on the Metro Line 10 and get off at the Shanghai zoo (上海动物园). The station is right below the zoo's entrance. Tickets costs RMB40 and each adult can bring a child below 1.2m for free. Opening hours depends and is normally shorter during Winter. I think it would be safe to assume the zoo is open daily from 10am-4:30pm.

Thursday, January 13, 2011

Exams over.

He should be done with his last paper by now.

Chinese paper: He said he didn't know how to write 1 or 2 characters.
Maths paper: He says he will score 110 marks. ( The paper is 100% + 20% (optional section with more challenging questions) He said he didn't know how to solve this optional question: 20+x=5. What is x?
English (as a first language / taught by foreign teacher): His 1st paper/ written one = ZERO. We all know why. Subsequent MCQ paper (he filled up everything) + Aural exam should be ok.
English ( local syllables): If he's not careless, should be able do very well.

He doesn't need to go to school until the 20th, and even then, only for a couple of hours to collect his results. Then it's winter vacation! 21 Jan - 13 Feb

Monday, January 10, 2011

Better!

Paper II: He came back annoucing that he had a MCQ (Multiple Choice) paper and filled up everything, including his name.

Tuesday, January 04, 2011

Horrors

Am told that the boy handed in an EMPTY, UNFILLED, BLANK English exam paper this morning. Blank to the extent that he didn't even write his name on it .....








.....It can't get worse than this can it?

Weather report

Was looking at my feet.... they haven't been this WHITE in a long time - but then so are most of me, and us. we've been wrapping ourselves since October. The weather has since turned even colder, with the highest daily temperature below 10 degree Celsius.

I send the boy to school with 3 tops (2 cotton ones sandwiching the woollen sweater- because he hates to have any skin contact with the woolly) + his school jacket, long johns and lined pants, thick socks and winter boots to school.

Layering remains key to attaining a balanced body temperature. This gives me a headache. I not only have to decide what I need to wear to work, but how to keep warm and still have these 2 groups of clothing match! This reminds me of what the boy said the other day in exasperation,

"I don't want to feel cold. I don't want to feel hot. I just want to feel normal!"