Local School: Second Week Shockers

So we are into our third week of school.... I have learned a few things and had a few shockers:

Things Learned:

-My kids will know Majulah Singapura  better than our national anthem because they are required to sing it every day at 7:25am before school starts.   To counter this (much to my children's embarrassment) I sing our national anthem every day while riding home on the bike.  Never knew I was such a patriot..... I love the American national anthem.
-If I question a teacher it will never be taken in a positive way.  Instead I must "inquire" regarding a policy and carefully make sure to not "question" their authority or be confrontational.... Not that I have been confrontational but apparently parents don't really advocate for their kids here.  Basic questions like, "Greta is having problems with her desk partner.... could you move her?" and "why would you keep my child after school when she was not the problem?" have been met with flustered responses and it was clear to me that it was unusual for a parent to ask such questions.  I am not sure how to communicate with them but I am know it will not be to confront them about things I find preposterous.
- Most of my lessons learned have been surrounding my chosen mode of transportation:

 1.  The best way to stay upright on the bike is by putting the bulk of the load backpacks) in the center.  I put one on my back and one on my chest......
 2.  You must leave before 7:10 or you will get run over by the cars who have no regard for
       you....       
 3.  If the school security guard tells you to get lights you should listen because if you don't  he will tell you all of the awful tragedies on bikes that he can remember....  
 4.  Once you do fully light yourself up and put on your helmets you will become a
      spectacle that will in fact cause car accidents because people are staring at the three flashing lights, the helmets, and the white girls precariously balancing on a single bike....

Shockers:

- The most shocking cultural run in has come in the form of the Monday morning "assembly".  When we were walking home from school Monday afternoon the girls were waving their hands wildly while they were crossing the street.  When I questioned them about the practice they said they were told to do it at school.  Upon further questioning, Alice mentioned that actually something really horrible had happened.  They had had a school assembly to tell the children that a P2 student had been killed by a car while crossing the road on Friday after school.  I held my breath... "what else did they say?"  She said, "that we need to learn from his mistake and always make sure we pay attention while crossing the street and wave our hands so cars can see us."  ARGH!   I am still processing their total lack of regard of human life here.  I want to believe that it isn't better just different.... They just don't feel the same way regarding death that we do in America.  They seem to be closer to it and not so protected.  If someone dies doing something careless (the boy was playing a game on the DS) then they are held up as examples of what you should not do.  So, I will help the kids process at home and hopefully help them understand how sad the parents and friends must feel.
-The school assembly giving all of the children rules for their behavior over Chinese New Year break was a favorite shocker for me.... the best two rules being: 1.  Don't eat too much & 2. Only take one serving of everything.  Alice said there were something like 20 things they told them not to do over their break.

Over all the school experience has been wonderful.  I feel like the girls are getting what I had hoped: a better sense of a completely different culture, Chinese language exposure, and figuring out how to make friends when no one is "like" them.  We will just have to deal with the copious amounts of rote memorization, homework, funny rules, strict teachers, extreme nationalism, and language/communication barriers.  Sigh.  Good thing the day only lasts 6 hrs.