Two weeks home

I have to say Jinbao is doing much better than I expected. He has figured out how to get his music and movies on my iPad. The only disadvantage to that is I rarely get my hands on my iPad! :) But it keeps him occupied while the kids are doing the school work they have been given to do over the summer. Matthew is also taking 7th grade math via Florida virtual school so it is taking a bite out of the time he has to spend with Jinbao. On Saturday Sensei let Jinbao join the wood breaking class with Matthew. He broke every piece of wood on the first try, even with his head! Thursday we went to the water park. He was very unsure when we first went in so we started with the lazy river. I pointed out the slide and he said "no, no, no" but after a few more rounds of the lazy river he decided he wanted to try it. After the first ride down the slide he was hooked and kept asking for one more try.
Even though he is doing well at home, I am starting to notice that he is not as happy as he was when he first came home. Earlier this week we went back to the school to work on getting signed up. He was obviously very afraid and not breathing in a relaxed way. Matthew and I tried to distract him while we waited. We struggled through a conversation about WWII and the Japanese, using google translate. He believes that China is the best for everything, the best athletes, best cars, best girls, etc. He even told me that he only likes Chinese girls and would never have an American girlfriend because they can not mix. I just chuckled and told him dad is Chinese and I am American (according to what he thinks American is) and we are married. He just looked at me with a puzzled look on his face. Of course I just nod and let him go on and on about how superior China is because it is his birth country, but it shows he is really starting to miss it along with being scared about starting school in a few weeks. Today he had his first doctor appointment. I am glad I made it with a Chinese doctor down in Ft Lauderdale whom Makenna saw when we adopted her in 2005. Even though it was an hour away it really helped that she could speak to him in Mandarin. Before we went this morning he was panicked. He wrote on the translator that he did not trust American surgery. I wrote back, "you do not need surgery!" He wrote back," Then why am I going?" I tried to explain checkup or physical in the translator and he didn't understand because the translation is not always accurate. He just ended up saying he likes to be in China not America. But it goes to show you what strange things are going through their minds which makes them have a lot of fear. If you do not realize that then you could possibly think the child was having a lot of oppositional behavior. When we arrived at the doctors office he began to panic again and was repeating something I did not understand over and over again. I ended up calling Andrew's dad who was able to calm him enough to cooperate when we went back into the room. When the doctor came in she talked to me first then spoke to him in Mandarin. I could see him relax as she went through the exam. She explained to him that it will take about 6 months to feel comfortable here but it will happen. She told him how to take care of his teeth, about helmets, strangers, eating healthy and all the other things he needed to know. He left with a smile on his face and we went for pizza. Next week I think I will have to start working on teaching him the basic things to say in English so he can start getting ready for school. Any suggestions beside name, address and I need to use the bathroom?


Thanks for following! Donna