Saturday, September 6, 2008

Yesterday was truly a homesick day. I was homesick for funny things, like John's crib. Lily and I were walking up to town to gather some provisions and she started talking about Canada. I asked her what she missed. "The details..." she said. "Like people coming to visit, and the cool air." It's really hot and humid here- 30 above almost every day; the kind of hot that makes you want to lie down. The kids are just kind of floppy everyday by about 1:oo. I miss the cool air too. I also miss sleeping on something that doesn't resemble plywood covered by cork. I cannot call it a mattress even though it looks like one. If you sleep in one position for too long, you feel like someone has puched you in the back a few times. Every morning the kids are up by 6 am but I can't really blame them for wanting to escape the bed. I long for a piece of foam...

On a brighter note, we have found rice crackers (go figure they were hard to find!), and bugles! We also bought a bike for Lily for her birthday, and Zoe a scooter. I think she rode it a good 7 minutes before the wheel fell off. Good thing Kyle brought his tool set. We are realizing that quality goods are going to cost the same, if not more than back home; if you can find them. All of the markets I have seen look like one big dollar store.

I started learning Mandarin yesterday, and after 20 minutes I have mastered "Ican't speak Mandarin..." and "Can you speak English?" If the answer is "no" then I guess that's it for communication... I really need a supernatural download of the language. Lily doesn't like going out without Kyle because she thinks we're going to get lost or something.

Zoe has become friends with every adult on our block, Chinese or Canadian. John won't become friends with anybody and is suspicious of anyone who tries to even talk to him. The Chinese love little kids his age, but when they try to talk to him, he shouts "NO!" into their face. Then they laugh which makes him furious. Ahh adjustment is taking time.

We hope to make it up to the Chinese church soon. We have met a lady who goes there and need to find out more about whether it's ok for them if we come... stay tuned.

Chongville

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