School – wadventures

Track and Field Day

jasperjeepers — Wed, 27 Mar 2019 05:42:07 +0000

WAB Tiger Field, Beijing, China

Track and field day is an annual event in the elementary. Each class is part of a greater color team and they work together to earn points. It was an all day event and the girls loved the time to hang out with their friends and do some fun track and field events.

Being at WAB has provided our family with many new and amazing opportunities. Many schools have track and field days, that is not unique. But what we are absolutely loving about this experience is the chance to be more present in the girls’ school lives. Because we work at their school, we can take 15 min. out of our day to watch them compete, cheer them on, give them a quick high five and go back to work. It is an amazing opportunity that we do not take for granted!

4th Grade Soccer Tournament

Gina Wehner — Sat, 27 Oct 2018 11:28:14 +0000

Shunyi District, Beijing, China

We have been very lucky with weather so far this fall. Many days start cool and brisk, but warm up with some sun by the afternoon. Today, Saturday October 27^th, I sit outside with a flannel and a big sweater watching numerous teams of 4^thand 5^thgrade girls play soccer. The sky is blue, the sun is shining, and I cannot imagine being any more content. Nola is playing soccer surrounded by friends, and it all feels so similar to what we would be doing at home in MN. Tonight, we will go to a Halloween party and the girls will go through a non-scary haunted house. There are so many things we are experiencing that are different and hard to adjust to. But days like this remind me of how many things are not so different. We are making this place our home and I am enjoying these moments.

Something I Saw Today: Pikmin Car

Matt Wehner — Tue, 09 Oct 2018 09:01:39 +0000

Chaoyang District, Beijing, China

Spotted in my Morning Commute: A White Pikmin Car

Pikmin: a plant/animal hybrid helper from the Nintendo game series of the same name. White Pikmin specialize in poison powers.

Beijing traffic can be tough. I am lucky that I am able to take the bus into WAB with the girls. I try to sit a bit far away from them because I think the school bus is important social time for kids, and I try to stay out of the way. I put headphones in and watch the commute.

I love Nintendo games and the Pikmin series, to me, is part of the Top Three game series: Mario, Zelda, Pikmin. The symbolism of a white Pikmin in the smog doesn’t escape me.

“When we move back to Minnesota, we should get a yellow electric car and make it a yellow Pikmin” -Nola

The First Day of School

Gina Wehner — Mon, 13 Aug 2018 09:54:58 +0000

Chaoyang District, Beijing, China

On August 13, 2018 (Happy Birthday Grandpa Tony!), we started school together for the first time. It felt surreal to be starting school this early in August and only 2 weeks after we arrived. The other surreal aspect about the experience was all 4 of us going to the same school/work place. I have worked in schools for 14 years, but never in the same school district as the girls attend. Matt has worked in non-profit and been around education his whole life, but he has never worked in a school setting. The chance for all of us to be on the same campus was a big selling point for this adventure. This was a big day for the Wehner family! We celebrated with a video call with Grandpa Tony and ice cream at the end of the night.