We’ve been staying with the Li Family for the past two nights and we’ll be here in Dounan for another four. They live in a three story country home, which is somewhat unusual for an island that has one of the highest population densities in the world. Then again, the town of Dounan isn’t too crowded to begin with.
The Li Family is very Taiwanese—hospitable almost to a fault. We’re made to feel as though it’s their one chance to have guests in the house and they don’t want to mess it up. They own and operate a kindergarten right next to the house. The school enrolls over a hundred children from two to six years old.
Maeli and I were lucky enough to visit the kindergarten on the last day before spring vacation. Having days off from school is a big deal for a Chinese kid. If you think that American school children are pressured with tests and school performance, think again. The harsh emphasis the Chinese place on their offspring to excel often puts them through evening and summer school classes in hopes to be accepted into the best colleges. From my experience at The Evergreen State College, I under-appreciate conventional testing methods which leaves me with a lot of empathy for these kids.
Even with all the pressure, these kids’ spirits aren’t hampered. At the school, we witnessed lots of playing, laughter, up-beat morning exercises and even a magic show. The show included fireworks spouting out of a cardboard box, something that would never get by kindergarden security in the US. When recess came around, Maeli was a super star. She had at least three children following her around at all times. They would lift her onto the swing, push her on the mini-cars, help her up the stairs, and lead her down the slide. All the while, little girls would pet her golden curls and make sure she had water and food. I was concerned that it would be too overwhelming for Xiao Mei, Maeli’s Chinese nickname, but she seemed content with all the attention. Mrs. Li took us to a handful of classrooms where Maeli shared some jelly beans in exchange for the other children’s rice creams, milk candies and seaweed chips.
It was nice to get a glimpse of how a Chinese kindergarten is run so that I can make a better decision of where to place Maeli someday. The other option is an international school where only English is spoken. But I’m more interested in having Maeli submersed in Chinese even though all the accolades go to the international schools.
For now, Maeli is content being a little American super star while mommy is close by.
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