afternoon update

It's 2:30 PM, and I am the only one awake right now!  I could certainly use the sleep, but as soundly as Tim and I both sleep when jetlagged, we decided it would be good to have one adult awake to know when our kids get up.  I don't know if Huang-huang normally naps after lunch (a common Chinese custom, which even many of my university students followed), but he fell asleep in the van this morning on our way from one governmental office to another, so I asked him when it was Esther's naptime if he wanted to rest, and he decided that he did.  Esther also fell asleep at one point during our long paperwork morning.

So, back to yesterday.  After our guide left, Huang-huang pulled out a memory stick that he had brought with him and started playing some music.  It turned out that it was a recording of him singing!  He played us several  songs, and then we asked him to do something quiet while Esther took a nap.  So I lay down with my waaaaay over-tired younger child, and when I got up, Tim had pulled up some photos on the computer and Huang-huang was looking through them.  So we both sat with him and looked at pictures, and I pointed out who some of the people were and where some of the places were.  Then Huang-huang started playing around with the computer, and pulled up QQ (popular Chinese chat site) on the internet.  I already can't remember exactly how things happened, but he communicated that he wanted to chat with his friends, and I communicated that that was okay.  I hadn't quite realized that it would involve downloading multiple programs onto our computer.  But anyway, he got it set up to his satisfaction (changing the picture background on our computer while he was at it), and then showed us some more music files and some pictures of him and his friends and teachers that were available to him on the internet.

Eventually Esther woke up.  We let Huang-huang choose where to eat from a set of options, and he chose McDonalds.  He didn't eat as much as I had expected, but said that he was full.  When we came back to the hotel, he immediately got on the internet again.  We are definitely going to need a translator to help us lay down some ground rules about internet usage!  Actually, after watching him go through the routine several times (he opened up the computer first thing when he got up this morning, and checked it again as soon as we came back from all our paperwork), I think he is just checking QQ for messages the way Tim and I check our e-mail.  That I can handle, I just don't want him going off into his own little internet world for  long periods of time.

Whether for sound or misguided reasons, Huang-huang seems pleased to be going with us.  (He was looking at our passports while we filled out paperwork yesterday, and at one point he  said "Meiguo" (America) and kissed the passport!  Today he wanted to know where his passport is.  (We'll get it on Friday.  Or possibly Monday.)  He likes to be physically close to us, and he likes to talk to us.  So things are going as well as could possibly be expected.  It is frustrating not to be able to communicate everything we would like to, and it is rather awkward being together 24-7 with a near total stranger, but that is par for the course.  This afternoon we are going to go out clothes shopping.  I only bought one outfit for him in the U.S. (plus essentials like pajamas) since I wasn't sure about his size, so now we need to acquire several more shirts and shorts.

My cold is slowly getting better, and Esther's seems to be as well.  No-one else has gotten sick yet.