Andrew's Page

Andrew has grown up in China, as you can see from these two photos (taken in Hong Kong). He and Michael spent the summer of 1999 in Tianjin, and then the family moved from the USA to Shanghai in 2000 (Andrew was seven in 2000, and 15 when with 2009 photo was taken.) In addition to the photos below, you can click the blue buttons above to see photos of his International Schools in Xi'an and Kunming.
This photo is in Hong Kong (Feb 2009). I call it "Mount Hood." (Andrew likes to wear a hood all winter.) Vivian was in meetings, so "the boys" spent a day enjoying sunshine and games in and near the International Airport. "Terminal 2" has an interesting (though expensive) array of things for visitors to do.	In 2008, Andrew said he wanted to help teach the little kids at our church (for foreigners), so now (about every other month) Michael teaches and Andrew helps. One thing the kids seem to really like is our puppet shows. Andrew is the wise dog Shou-Ou and Michael is Denali, a playful beaver.
April is birthday month for both Andrew and Beth, so this page mainly features photos from several of Andrew's birthday parties. 2009. (Left) Andrew and Michael enjoy a father-son dinner at Pizza Hut to celebrate Andrew's 16th birthday. (center) At dinner, Michael surprised Andrew with this "Promise Ring," specially made to feature a logo Andrew had designed for himself. The things in the photo include a pose-able "guy" Andrew has been using to refine his artistic skills, and a book cover he helped to design. Two friends from school also spent Friday night at our place, watching movies and playing games to the wee hours of Saturday (this has become a birthday tradition). 2008. This year's party theme was "Pirates of the Caribbean," and Vivian's sister had kindly sent a party pack from the States to make it special. The guys watched the Pirates movies until they all fell asleep. The next morning, they enjoyed a "digital treasure hunt" Michael had created for them. (You can see the rules and photos for the contest by clicking here.) After the "hunt" we had pizza and played foosball at Teresa's Pizza
2007. Four guys could make it this year. They started by devouring the Tacos Vivian had prepared. The theme was "Star Wars," but they ended up watching all three Lord of the Rings films before everyone was asleep.
Late on the first night of this BD gathering, the guys played a game Andrew and Michael created for the party. We called it Farse Wars; there are three levels, and we created farcical photos and a bizarre story as the backdrop of the game. The Lego pieces go with each warrior's identity, including "Yo-dog"--a combination of our puppy and Yoda. Everyone had a lot of fun!
2006. A big crowd was on hand for Star Wars Risk this year's birthday party. Compare this photo to his 14th-16th birthdays and you'll see few consistent faces (only one, to be precise). Such coming and going is common among the international community, which can make it difficult for kids to enjoy the long-term friendships they would have in the country of their birth. Of course, they also have lots of experiences (like climbing the Great Wall, visiting Hong Kong Disneyland/Scotland/etc) that most kids could never dream of! 2004. Andrew got to spend half of 2004 in an American school (the only time he did that, other than first grade). (Left) Classmates and friends-of-the-family went to a Kids' Pizza restaurant for his 12th birthday party. (Center) His sister Beth made a cool cake for the event. (Right) Friends from our home church (yes, they are American-Chinese) gave Andrew "the coolest bike he ever owned"--making this birthday extra memorable.
2005. I can't find a photo of his 12th birthday party, but this was taken about two weeks later (April 15, with Vivian at a park in Xi'an).	2003. Andrew and friends, bowling at his 10th birthday party (in Xi'an).
The annual Jian Hua conference (this one was in Hong Kong, 2005) gives Andrew the chance to be with other kids his age who are also experiencing the challenges of growing up in a second culture. Some of these kids live in Kunming, so he already knew some people when we moved there.	Here is the teen group in Hong Kong, 2009. Yes, a few of the faces appear in both photos, but many ex-pat kids come and go over the years. (There's a 2007 photo on the Thailand page.)
Andrew has skipped stones in the South China Sea (here we are on Gulangyu island with Xiamen in the background--Feb. 2005), the Pacific Ocean, the Atlantic Ocean, the Yangtze River and the Yellow River, not to mention assorted lakes and rivers around the world.	During our 2004 stay in the USA, Andrew went swimming a lot, mostly under the watchful eye of his Grandma Krigline (who took these photos).
Virtual twins. (Left--2002) This may have been the first time Andrew met the Elner's kids, but he and Pierce (a fellow JHF kid) were destined to become "best friends." For the three years that we lived in Xi'an, they enjoyed spending as much time together as their parents allowed (we didn't live nearby). (Center--2005) Here they use linked Gameboys while their parents did "boring" things. Great friends are worth keeping, so they've even gotten together a few times since we moved to Kunming (Right--2009 with Gimli).
Christmas in the Country. A highlight of 2004 was the chance to share Christmas with this school in Weinan, a village near Xi'an. The school had been damaged in a recent flood. The boxes and bags in this first picture contain a new backpack for each student, along with school supplies, balls, rackets, paddles and other sports equipment. In the middle picture, a grateful school principal is carrying one of the boxes inside. On the right, Andrew is in the middle as his schoolmates and teachers sing some Christmas carols to the gathered crowd. Andrew's headmaster also presented candy canes to all of the local students, and explained the symbolism behind this American holiday treat. School Days. (Left) This is Andrew's whole class (2004-05) at the Xi'an International School on "Culture Day"--they represented Canada. The teacher is dressed as a judge, while Andrew, Micah and Hope (far left) are the "Three Musketeers of the Sea." (Center) Andrew and John won first prize for their grade at the school science fair (May 2003). They were studying how the NASA rover will land on Mars. Andrew's entry on Tsunamis took second place in 2005. (Right) Even back in 2002, Andrew also had quite a collection of dogs (and other Beanie Babies/animals), though now they simply reside in plastic sleeves behind his door. Hobbies change as you grow up. We shipped Lego from the US in 2000, and that was Andrew's favorite toy for years (as it was Michael's). He used to read a lot, but in his teen years Andrew's hobbies switched to computer games and graphic art software, and taking care of Gimli.
One of the things that attracted us to Kunming was Kunming International Academy (KIA), where Andrew went to school from 2005 to 2009. (Click here for photos of a 2006 field trip to the Teng Chong volcano region.) Unfortunately, KIA raised their prices so much in 2009 that we had to withdraw him; he is now being "home schooled." Andrew got an award for being the "hardest worker" on the backstage crew for KIA's spring 2007 drama night, called A Window on Comedy and Tragedy. It included three one-act plays that all had a window in them. Andrew will miss the interaction with others in things like the plays and yearbook staff, but we really didn't have much choice. Educating your children is a huge expense for people working outside their home country!	Backstage: "What can I do next?" Taking bows with a teacher and other students in the 2009 play
Finally, the "embarrassing" photos of his early childhood, that I like too much to delete from this page. (Left-2000) Andrew had a great First Christmas in China. The tree was a gift from a British teacher who left soon after we arrived in Shanghai. (click here for other Christmas photos). The next photo shows a Greek warrior who showed up in our kitchen one spring morning (2001). He said something about a school project, but frankly it was all Greek to me! The next year he was trying to convince Pharaoh to let his people go! Unfortunately, Pharaoh wouldn't listen, even with "Flat Aaron-Stanley" there to help! His drama career continued the next year (2003) in Xi'an, when he was Christopher Columbus. I think it was the next year that his teacher convinced him to be "Uncle Yule" in a Christmas play, and he hated it so much that he never acted again. In high school, however, he played a "leading role" in the back-stage crew for several school plays. When Andrew was little, Chinese people loved watching him and having a photo taken together. That is one thing Andrew certainly didn't miss as he grew older!
Click here to see Andrew's Lego Page.