Three Weeks Down

What I'm about to tell you may not mean that much to any of you, and it probably isn't a very big deal, but what has happened lately makes me so proud of the work I'm doing. I really do feel like I'm making a difference in these people's lives, and nothing feels better than helping someone grow.

This was one of my most proud moments while being here. Just keep in mind that this girl is only 1 and a half! I have been working very hard on colors and shapes with her. Now she can pronounce pretty much all of the basic colors (still struggling with green) and knows what shapes are. If I hold up a blue ball she will say blue ball. Is it sad that this makes me so excited? She can also now count to ten with some help going through 7 and 9. I feel like I'm going to get really far with this little one by the time my China days are up.




And Jerry, the kid that if he doesn't get everything he wants he throws a fit and runs to mom acting like the world is going to end… We had a moment today when he was playing with the iPad and Sarah comes over of course, wanting to play too. He starts yelling and screaming at her to stop and starts getting very aggressive. That's when my inner mom kicked in. I went over, took the iPad and said, "Jerry, if we can't share the iPad then we aren't going to play at all." This kid looked at me as if I had killed his first pet. Instantly he starts crying so hard and so loud! I surprised myself at this moment though. Three weeks ago I would have had an anxiety attack with this happening, but instead I took his hands, looked into his eyes and calmly told him he needed to stop crying. I don't know if it was the way I said it but suddenly his crying started to subside. Throughout my research I've found that Chinese children are taught to take everything as their own. Kind of like the strongest wins everything. Next I explained to him that we need to share with people because it's the better thing to do and we will get more happiness from it in the long run. I didn't realize how composed and calm I was during this 5 minute conversation until it was over and he actually looked like he understood. I was so surprised with myself that I hadn't gotten angry or annoyed that he was throwing such an obnoxious fit. Next thing I know Sarah and Jerry are playing together on the iPad :)

I've gotten somewhere with Grandpa too. He is actually my best friend. haha I don't know if it's pathetic that an old, Chinese man is seriously my best friend but it's true. He has saved me. And he's so funny too! He speaks in Chinese to me, I speak in English to him, but we still crack each other up all day. It's like we have this weird telepathy where we know exactly what the other one is trying to say. I've taught him a couple of English words and he's helping me with my Chinese best he can. We walk together everyday and just point to things and say what they are, then learn it in the other language. He cannot remember the word tree for the life of him! Haha I've had tree down in Chinese for about a week now and every single day at least 10 times I say, "English Shu?" and he just starts laughing so hard and tries to run away from me. Then I tell him it's tree and he says it about 20 times trying to remember it for the next time, but he never does. That is the only way we can communicate with each other - we either say English or Chinese and then the word right after. It's the most simplified way for us to understand each other. 

The other day while I was running I actually came across this huge soccer field. I was so excited that I ran all the way back home to get my cleats, and of course Grandpa. Haha we watch soccer together and it's the funniest thing ever. He stands up and pretends he's kicking a ball. He does the same thing with basketball. Anyway, I get home and start trying to tell him to come play with me. He's just shaking his head and laughing because he knows exactly what I'm implying while I'm pretending to kick a soccer ball and pointing to the door. It took me a good 10 minutes and dragging him out the front door to get him to go but I was successful! Grandma drove us because Grandpa can't drive… haha I felt like a 12 year old asking for a ride somewhere. We got there and that's where I taught this old man how to shoot a soccer ball. It was one of the funniest moments of my life. I literally fell to the ground laughing so hard when he tried to kick the ball, missed, and almost broke his whole body. I can't even imagine what people were thinking while watching us. Here's this blonde, American girl and an old Chinese man playing soccer together. Hahaha he ended up having a pretty good shot by the end of two hours and a very sore body the next day. I tried to make him stretch after breakfast this morning and he wouldn't so of course I had to grab his leg for him and do it myself. Grandma was in the background laughing so hard that she started choking.

I think they really like me because all we do is laugh together. I already know leaving this sweet man is going to break me. I will miss him, his making fun of everything I do, our walks every afternoon, saying "CHEERS" literally every time we drink out of a glass and with our bowls most of the time as well, playing soccer with him, him pretending to run which means I need to eat more, bringing each other home apples everyday and him pacing around the house after every single meal as his exercise. I wish you could all meet him.

xoxox