Life in a fishbowl

Life in a Fishbowl

Life in asialand has been a little frustrating lately, especially as it relates to anything internet-related (which, let’s just face it, includes a whole lot of stuff). That earthquake that hit after Christmas in Taiw@n damaged a major cable that ran under the pacific ocean, connecting internet users from the asian and north American continents. Even though we do not live in Taiw@n, the damaged cable has affected nearly every Asian country – Japan, Korea, China, Hong Kong, Thailand, Singapore, Indonesia, even some parts of Australia. For the last week, our internet has been largely non-existent. Today was the first day I’ve even been able to pull up blogger since the 27th. So, you have my apologies for my unplanned absence. All that to say, I’ve got lots to blog about, but it will be coming in little chunks, as my husband has less of a capacity to stay up late than I do, and the nighttime hours are my only chance to blog.

So here’s the story the title alluded to…

Here in our city is this place called “Gymboree: play, ,art, and music”. Yeah, the ultra-expensive kids clothing store in the States also apparently has an ultra-expensive educational daycare program for babies and toddlers. It is advertised in this country as a place to get your kids to be exposed to English (as all the activities are supposedly done in English) but the truth is, there are few places like this in this country. Gymboree here does do lots of fun things – like special art and music emphasis, planned activities that encourage thinking, stimulation, and are geared to challenge different age levels. The locals here think it is super cool, and it truly is a neat place, even from me, who hails from the American land of plenty.

Yet, like I said, it is ultra-expensive. Sure, our US dollar goes a long way in the local currency, but I don’t think even WE could afford it. You sign up for a certain amount of sessions that are once a week, 45 minutes a session. So, a two-year commitment (the standard contract) will cost you about $1200! Over a thousand dollars to take your kid once a week to play! Yikes!

We have opted out of the sparkling clean Gymboree play sessions, but were all too happy to accept an invitation to a birthday party for our friend “ding ding” (yes, I’m serious) held there after Christmas. Even though the party started at 7:00pm (just a hare before bedtime for Emma), we showed up and participated in all the fun games. We played the parachute thing where all the adults grab a handle of the parachute and then make it billow up and down, there were games that involved catching bubbles that were being spit out of a bubble blower, and lots of big cushions where the kiddos could bounce and bounce to their hearts content.

Then, after every ounce of energy that could be sapped from the toddlers was gone, they escorted us all down to an open lobby-type area for some small snacks and drinks. Here’s where the story gets interesting. The Gymboree is located inside of a huge supermarket with lots of other stores, similar to a large shopping mall. The outside walls of the Gymboree are all glass and open up to all the foot traffic coming and going from the grocery store. We ourselves have walked passed the Gymboree many times as we have made our weekly grocery shopping trips, and usually throw a quick glance over there to see what might be going on.

But December 27th was different. December 27 had foreigners playing in the Gymboree! So all the foot traffic walking by the Gymboree decided to stop and look and stay and stare. It might take you a moment to figure it all out, but look closely at the picture. You can see that Rachel and I are talking on the couches in the upper left. John is playing with his daughter somewhere in the middle, and Josh snapped the picture. All along the wall you can see the attention that was attracted by the curious mob, wondering what in the world the foreigners would have been doing inside the Gymboree.

It honestly felt like a case of the haves vs. the have-nots – all the people who can’t afford the thousand-dollar investment in their kids English ability looking longingly at the people who have forked out the dough.

It was funny to see this microcosm of what life often feels like for us. It truly feels like we are constantly being watched, observed, scrutinized, criticized, adored, revered…life over here is such a strange feeling. It really is like living in a fishbowl.