So let me tell you something about China, 1) they have no problem asking how much you paid for something, or how much money you make 2) they like to stuff your children full of sugar, anytime, anywhere 3) and their answer to a bored, sad, happy, mad, or totally content child, is electronics. If you know Chris and I, financially we are an open book, but we do try to take a hard stand on the sugar and electronics front. So parenting in this country was surprisingly a lot of "when in Rome" moments.
You just walked into our house, here stuff your face with candy, you are crying because you can't play on the phone (again), here try this cube of sugar, you look hungry even through we just woke up, how about some ice cream. The sugar struggle was real. And since our kids were already surviving on rice and noodles, we really had to rein it in every once in a while and try to introduce a vegetable or two, and throw out a couple hard no's. We lost a lot of battles and some we didn't even try to fight. But in the end we all survived, maybe 5 pound heaver, a couple brain cells shorter, and slightly more spoiled, but I give Chris and I props for parenting through the mine field and making it to the other side.
Dominic could not wait to see Saiwang again. He literally begged every day to stay with Saiwang over night instead of in the hotel with the rest of the family. He kept saying "when I see Saiwang, I am going to tackle him". And he was true to his word.
There are 7.4 milling people that live in Changsha and as we were walking through the mall one day we hear "Mr. Becher?". The kid below lived with us in Washington for a total of 4 months back in 2015, he had been following us through the mall for 45 minutes before saying anything because he couldn't believe that these white people (of which we were the only ones) walking through the mall was actually our family. Needless to say, all of our minds were blown.
We spent A LOT of time at malls on this trip. Shopping, eating, ice skating, eating again. Not because of the lack of things to do...but because it was so freaking hot and humid we decided escaping to air conditioning instead of hiking a super tall mountain would help maintain our sanity. Although come to think of it sweating off some of the noodle and rice diet probably wouldn't have hurt us.
This is Saiwang's grandpa and he is easily the cutest little old man in the world. He would continually speak in Chinese to us like we understood what he was saying and I have never before wished so badly that I could. Until I realized that he was just telling me to get into the kitchen and cook like the other women. Patriarchy is alive and well.
