Breck shares his birthday with India’s Republic Day (so he always had a school holiday when we lived in Mumbai) and (as I learned yesterday) Australia Day. So happy birthday to all of them.
He’s having a Guy Party this weekend – he made up invitations that invited friends to “explore their inner guyness” as they play video games and watch PG-13 movies – so that’s pretty exciting. Bookended between baseball games on Friday night and Sunday afternoon, he’s got a full schedule.
For his birthday evening, we ordered in McDonald’s, ate the birthday cake his sister made, opened presents, studied for his math test, and watched War of the Worlds. Not too shabby for a Thursday afternoon!
Apparently we have to move all the way to the far east for Breck to be able to play baseball. There was nothing in Serbia, nothing in India (unless you count cricket), and we always got back too late/left too early in the summers to participate in the USA.
But here in J-Town, there is a thriving baseball league. Populated in large part by Indonesians (of course) and Japanese (which makes sense), the league is a well-structured ways for players to both learn the basics and hone their skills. Breck’s birthday determined that he was in the majors, so he is a first-time player on teams with much older boys (and a few girls).
After a practice on Thursday, the Phillies (ugh) had their first game on Sunday. Yeah, there wasn’t really a whole lot of “prep time” involved, but for many of the kids that didn’t seem to make much of a difference – they are good!! In a Thrilla Near Manilla, Breck’s team won 7-6 at the bottom of the last inning. Breck got in to play 2nd base, and his older teammates were very helpful in guiding him along.
Susan was a little overwhelmed at the length of the game (we arrived around 3:45 and left at 8:00), and Breck took a little dinger to his hand, but all in all it was a very successful afternoon of the “American Pastime” – in Indonesia!!
The middle school had its annual track meet, and Breck has been practicing with the team to get ready for things. There were over 300 students in attendance from 5 international schools, so to say there was a lot going on is a huge understatement!
Since I’d volunteered to run the javelin competition, Susan and Alea were holding down the Stutz cheering section duties (and they apparently did a great job). Breck ended up getting 5th overall in both long jump and javelin, and Susan got to taste Jakarta’s infamous Fatburgers!
So here’s the story: we were in a lunchtime meeting, and we could hear all this music being played outside. No big deal, right? Then other teachers started coming in saying that all the kids were on the Bali stage dancing, they were having a great time, and there’d never been anything like it before. Whatever.
Then, I started getting emails from people, and instructions to go the the front page of our MS website. And there it was:
Actual quote: “Your son was the star of the Bali Stage dance floor today at lunch. He had about 30 kids out there dancing with him.” Our boy was gettin’ down! It was like a scene right out of an Indian movie, where spontaneous dancing breaks out and makes everyone happy. It was certainly a fun way to see the kids spending their time!
We all certainly try to be, but sometimes kids’ expectations are a little unrealistic.
Doing some homework with Breck last night, he started wishing out loud that Einstein was his math teacher. I found this interesting, and asked if he had any other preferred teachers for his subjects.
Here is his list of who he’d want to be his teacher for each class:
Some of them are obvious “experts in the field”
Math: Einstein
Science: Newton
Music: Beethoven
Art: Leonardo da Vinci
English: William Shakespeare
Others are people who might not immediately leap to mind
French: Joan of Arc or Napoleon
Drama: Harrison Ford or George Lucas
PE: Carl Lewis
And my two personal favorites -
Social Studies: Genghis Khan
Tech: that guy who invented computers – Michael Soft
So here they are, at the (maybe) last band concert of the year – Alea and Breck with their instruments in tow!
All the bands played great, and it was a super way to end a Wednesday. There’s big pressure on now to buy instruments for them this summer; we’ll have to see what the break brings.
Their band director is a fun guy from Minnesota (he actually taught at the same middle school the kids would attend if we lived in the apartment in Lakeville!), and you can see a goofy picture of him by clicking on the existing shot!
That’s what Breck wanted to have for his birthday. Since we missed his real birthday (travel plans for a job recruiting fair – that we ended up not needing to attend – precluded celebrations on his actual date), we’d promised to make it up this weekend.
Gathering 8 buddies from school in a rented van to traipse them all around town, we headed up to the suburb of Powai (which is built around a lake that is home to man-eating crocodiles. For real.) While we had no plans to swim in the lake, we did chow down on pizza and then head over to an outdoor paintball arena. For those of you who have never experienced paintball (in 90 degree weather) with a bunch of 12 year old boys, let me tell you that you have missed out on living! I thought testosterone was the source of all the machismo, but these guys – who are not anywhere close to shaving – would give any tall taler a run for his money!
After about an hour and a half of play – and the requisite rehashing of all the kills and strategies and all – we jumped in the bumper cars for a spin and then finished the afternoon at the video arcade.
I think I wore them all out – and me tool. If India can just finish off Ireland in this silly cricket game, then I’m hitting the hay as well!
That was the name of one part of “Stars on Parade,” the middle school production this year. It was made up of 13 mini-plays put on by students, and included a Stutz performer (just as it had last year).
This time around, it was Breck’s turn to take part, and he worked every Thursday afternoon with his groups preparing their performances. The first bit was a play on the song (and movie) Mama Mia, where instead of the love interest being a person – it was food! Very cute, as they sang and danced their way through tales of diet woe and junk food trauma!
The second piece he was in was called “Eclipse of the Twilight Moon,” of course in mocking reference to the vampire books and movies that everyone (in the middle school, at least) has read and seen. Breck plays a zombie who convinces Bella that neither the vampire Edward nor the werewolf Jacob are the ‘man’ for her, and he lurches off arm-in-arm with her, presumably to un-live happily ever after.
They showed the plays 5 times in the span of 2 days, so the cast really got a feeling for what it was like to put on a production multiple times. While cameras and video were not allowed at the performance (“No real theater allows recordings, and we won’t here either. A play should be remembered in the head and in the heart”), I was able to snag a few pictures that the yearbook photographer took during a practice run through!
Breck as a zombie! – EotTM
Part of the singing crew – Mama Mia
Showing food the love (that’s “Bella” in front) – Mama Mia
Breck has been participating in an intramural basketball program this spring at school, and the teams held their internal tournament this weekend. He was one of only 2 6th graders to play, so going up against all those big 8th graders gave him a chance to “toughen up” a bit.
His team wore black, and ended up winning 2 out of their 3 games. He scored a bit, made some good defensive plays, and had a very good showing for his first ever experience with a basketball team. Good time!!
So apparently the ill effects of the economy are now striking our family. Let me explain:
Breck’s hair was getting really long (bear with me – this will make sense in a minute). Susan volunteered to give him a trim this weekend, citing a couple of very rational reasons for getting the cut at home: most Indians have straight hair (so barbers would be less familiar with his curls), she speaks better English than most barbers (and thus would listen to what he said about what he wanted the hair to look), etc.
When he showed up at school today with a nice neat haircut, one of his teachers commented on it, and he replied that he’d had it cut at home “because Indian barber shop prices are rising, and we couldn’t afford to go there.”
Well, yes, Indian barbershop prices are rising, it is true. But I’m pretty sure we can still afford to go, seeings how the current (white man’s, inflated) price is Rs 50, or $1.10.
Hopefully the teacher doesn’t really think money woes are the reason we didn’t take him to a salon! I can only wonder what other stories people hear about us around town…
Here’s the latest thing Breck has been spending time on: in PE, they are doing a unit on ‘circus arts,’ encompassing everything from unicycles to juggling to flicking around those sticks you see people playing with on the beach (obviously there is a more accurate name, but it is Friday afternoon and I just can’t think of it).
In any case, he has spent a lot of time practicing his juggling (and is getting good at it!), but decided to show off his stick skills in the school presentation. Because the theme was the circus and clowns, he put on a wig and had makeup on his face – and really did a spectacular show!
The 6th grade held their “informance” today – part ‘performance’ part ‘information’ – for parents to check out the new sound. Breck’s been working really hard on learning to play the trombone, as our neighbors will attest! The trombone is tricky, as there are no valves to push or holes to cover. Instead, he has to figure out how far his slide should be sticking out from the instrument, an ‘eyeball’ method at best.
But today, when the “lower brass” part of the band opened up, they sounded great! They provide the foundation for all of the other instruments, and their rhythm and intonation were fantastic. And to top things off, Breck got to introduce one of the songs – he is a natural emcee!
What a super afternoon get together – a perfect break in the daily routine.
Ah, yes, the start of middle school and the beginning of another musical career. Alea joined band in 6th grade and took up the saxophone and was given a guitar by her friends this last birthday! Breck decided to pick band as well, but he was interested in a more, shall we say, ‘expressive’ instrument.
He got to bring the trombone home with him the other day, and we were all made suddenly aware of just how much power there is in it (and how LOUD IT REALLY CAN BE). Our poor little apartment will certainly rock and roll to the competing sounds of woodwind and brass this year!
It is official! Breck finished elementary school and is no longer (sniff) a little kid – he is a Middle Schooler! That means both Stutz kids will be in the ASB middle school next year (although neither of them will have their father for a teacher!)
Breck’s graduation ceremony went awesome, with the teachers saying little blurbs about each student. The word that he said describe our boy was “Enthusiasm,” which Breck exemplified by his enthusiastic walk across the stage afterwards.
And now today is our last day. People are busy signing yearbooks, saying goodbye, and getting ready for summer travel plans. As is tradition, we took an “end of school” picture – which I had to bark at the kids to pose for – and add it here so all can see what great young people Alea and Breck are. (To see them in other years, check out our “school pix” archive!) Have a great summer one and all – we are off to the USA tomorrow night for family, fun, and fishing!
Breck got a cool model from a birthday party a few weeks ago – a cardboard stick-em-together military ship. We had a great father-son bonding afternoon, separating all the pieces and assembling them in the shape of the ship.
What made it even more exciting was the fact that there were no directions. We had to find 2 pieces that had matching numbers on them and then stick the pieces together. Of course, #1 was not the first bit to be assembled: oh no – the numbers had nothing at all to do with the order.
We did get things done, however, and it is now a part of his growing ‘modern military’ collection of toys. He has great battles between it, the Keralan backwater bamboo boat, the wooden tank from Bali, and the garage sale metal planes (ranging from WWII through modern jet fighters).
I suppose, however, that we really should feel happy not to have had any instructions. Judging from the text that appeared on the front of the box, I’m pretty sure written directions would have been more of a hindrance!
I have been neglectful in Free Verse Friday lately, so in honor of this week’s Caf-ASB, here is my ode to various regional stomach ailments:
Here in Mumbai, we sometimes get food sick
From restaurant, kitchen, or picnic.
The belly distends
Kicks out waste from both ends
Accompanied by internal music.
This year’s not been really all too rough
We’ve only had one round of that stuff
But with watery stomachs
And quivery buttocks
I swear once is more than enough.
The first hint is often quite bitter
A bubbling that shouts out “Don’t fritter!
You’ve no time to wait
You’d better go straight
And plop yourself down on the… toilet!”
But one thing we’ve noticed in three years
Is a pattern that constantly reappears:
The BMs reflect
The vacations they’ve wrecked
Like a matched set of runny brown souvenirs.
Our first trip, in a hotel so smelly
Alea’s tummy got sick from some jelly
In India’s heart
Ruined trip from the start:
An authentic case of real Delhi Belly.
The second time, as you will soon see-a
Was based on the self same idea
Poor Breck took the throne
In our very own home:
Struck down by Mubaiarrhea.
Dave’s ill was not like his daughter’s
But still was a set of the trotters.
Eating Cochinese shrimp
On his trip, put a crimp:
He sailed down the Kerala Backwaters.
Our last trip involved the ole poop pots
When we went to see Indian hot spots
In the desert a-cruisin’
The ailment caught Susan
And she got the Jodhpur Camel Trots
Pondicherry Derri-airy, Bangalore Blasts
Hyderabad Hot Squirts, Taj Mahal Gas
The Rajasthan Runs
Of course, Mysore Bum
The Calcutta Quick Step and Amritsar Ass.
Now, don’t think our stories pure unkind
We’ve usually had a real good time.
We remember our trips
Not by what we take with
Butt rather, what we’ve left behind!
Today was the 5th annual aquathon at school – a fundraiser that includes swimming and running events. One of Breck’s buddies invited him to participate and ‘share the wealth’ in terms of the work, so Breck agreed to be the runner.
The Splash and Dash portion consisted of a 150m swim and 1.5km run (as opposed to the longer main Aquathon 300m-4km-300m event), which was just perfect for the guys. They had a great time, got a certificate and t-shirt, and had some fun on a Sunday morning!
Even though today was a day off from school (due to India’s biggest holiday – Republic Day), we were all awakened early in the morning. He claimed that he “wasn’t really trying to make too much noise,” but Breck was pretty impatient to get his birthday started!
We’d brought out some presents the night before, so he knew that there was (probably) some good stuff waiting..
He was totally excited about the new Star Wars Lego set that he got!
But the thing that got his (stomach) juices really flowing? Good old American junk food – that bag of chips costs 6 bucks, so it is a real once-a-year treat.
Breck and I went to the Bandra Fair last weekend (the yearly event that we visited as a family last year) for a little guy time together. I decided deliberately not to bring a camera, as I find that can become the focus (ha ha) of what I’m doing, and I wanted just to hang out with him.
We did bring a Flip video camera, though, a device a little larger than a mobile phone, and shot a bit of video. Not too much, but enough to give a taste of the event. Enjoy a quick look at the Bandra Fair!!
Well, it is official. Everyone in my family is certifiably photogenic except me. Our school has a rotating image front page to the website, and Alea graced the cover a few months ago. This weekend, while doing homework, we saw that the image set had been redone, and now both Susan and Breck get their shot at ASB stardom:
We pass this local college every day coming home from school, and I just had to get a shot of this sign (BTW – billboards are called “hoardings” here, in case anyone ever asks you). They’d had the same ad last year, and I never took a picture, but it is back for another round, and I got my shot this time.
I suppose there is a very specific demographic to which this university is appealing – MBA students who want to attend a college in not just any part of Asia (it has to be South Asia) and have a school that is good but not too good.
I do wonder how they decided to advertise as the “13th best” as opposed to “One of the Best” or even “in the Top 15.” Of course, 13 doesn’t have the bad luck connotations as it does in the West, but that designator is still somewhat funny.
Oh well. Seeing this reminded me that I have a ton of pictures from this past year that have not yet been posted (yes, including the Egypt trip, but that is moving really slowly right now). These last few weeks are killer, what with end of the year hoopla, goodbye parties, report cards, packing, buying a house (surprise!!), etc, etc,etc. I’m not sure how much of anything I’ll get to, but I did put together another “Life in India” photo montage for the webpage, so enjoy the photos!
Breck shares his birthday with India’s Republic Day (so he always had a school holiday when we lived in Mumbai) and (as I learned yesterday) Australia Day. So happy birthday to all of them.
