It turns out that going to Chinatown is a super popular field trip with parents. To the point that we had a 2:1 ratio of kids to adults on Thursday - unheard of in sixth grade! I had planned to carpool downtown with a couple of other moms, and I gave them 15 minutes past the time they were supposed to pick me up, but then I left a note on the door and went by myself. I think the drop in center experience has made me snap a little on punctuality. I was slightly concerned that I'd made a social blunder with my school mommy relationships by going ahead, but I figured (and was right) that they'd be okay with it. As it was I was barely on time, well really, 5 minutes late, but I arrived at the meeting place at the same time as the bus of students. The moms I ditched were 45 minutes late! It can happen to anyone, but my kids aren't used to it happening to me and I'm glad Steven didn't spend the first 45 minutes of the field trip wondering where I was.
We toured around outside for a while. This was the only photo I took. Steven and his partner were supposed to snap photos for a photo essay assignment following the trip to Chinatown.
When it was time for us to head to the restaurant for lunch some fish were being unloaded from a truck and they were still alive! It was a very authentic Chinatown experience for the boys with me to see this fish flopping around a little on the sidewalk. Steven got a great picture here.
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Our lunch destination. The kids at my table were all very adventurous with the foods they tried. They all gave the mystery foods a shot instead of sticking to the ginger chicken and rice.
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Much of the field trip was like a shopping day on vacation in another country. We have the 3rd largest Chinatown in Canada - who knew?
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The Chinese herbs shop was fascinating with all the bulk jars; they even had dried seahorses. Unfortunately the shop owner wasn't friendly at all, and didn't share what illness the seahorses were supposed to treat.
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At the end of the day we went to the Chinese Cultural Center. The kids learned the symbolism of the colors and graphics painted on the ceiling.
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This photo of stone horse statues is one of Steven's favorites, other than the photos of his friends kissing lion statues, posing holding girls clothes in front of them and so forth - I don't think Steve's friends have any pictures of him being quite that silly. Thank goodness.
We had a great time together; Steven even hugged me at the end of the day (in public) and thanked me for coming.
7 comments:
What a neat cultural experience--great idea for a field trip!
That's fun to see the pictures that Steven took for his assignment. If you ever figure out the use for dried seahorses, please let us know. That is a fascinating thought.
And a public hug? Parent payday for sure.
I love Chinatowns! Dried seahorses, eh? My curiosity is piqued. And I love that Steven hugged you -- in public -- that says a lot.
Yum, Silver Dragon. I've eaten lots of good food there.
Cool field trip!
A public hug from an almost-twelve-year-old. Awesome!
I am so excited to go to Chinatown in NY!
I think it's the 'Silver Dragon' that gets the high parent/student ratio on this field trip.
The last sentence: all the reward you could want, I imagine.
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