Two in Taiwan

So, as usual, Annie has been the driving force of this blog! Thanks Annie!

I look so grumpy in the picture at the restaurant with Jonathan and Mary--but I really had a nice time. They were kind enough to ask us to chose what type of food we wanted and Kai Wie had chosen steak! So we went to the Ponderosa. I don't know if I've ever been to one in the States. The steak came with an American flag toothpick and the kids got a kick out of that. Kai Wei and Sarah Grace really enjoyed their son, Fisher.

Thank you Jonathan and Mary for your kindness and hospitality. I'm honored that you read our blog and know our family as you do. I am looking forward to your visit to the U S!

We also really enjoyed visiting Kia Wei's school today. So different than an American school. It had a huge court yard full of tropical plants (and puddles). The classrooms have wooden desks and I think there are more kids per class than US schools. There was a very friendly, homey atmosphere. I think US elementary schools appear more sterile or something. But maybe it is just he people here. They are such a friendly and warm & inviting culture. It makes me feel like I need to work on being a nicer person!

Anyway, we totally disrupted Kai Wei's class. We felt badly. But they had not known before the Chinese New Year that he was leaving so when he didn't show up on Monday and they found out why they were shocked. So the orphanage thought it would be nice for him to walk over and say goodbye. I'm so glad we could be a part of that. He was obviously well loved by his classmates. They were so happy and cute to see him and us. They said we spoke Chinese because when the teacher introduced us we said "Ni hao!" They said Kai Wei's Baba was handsome and they all call KW "the handsome one" too! It was so funny. They had a really nice card for him that they were passing around for everyone to sign. He was happy with that. It is probably a good thing that their English teacher arrived and we could make an exit because we really felt like we'd gotten the kids wound up. As we walked out they were changing classes and bunches of kids came up with huge smiles on their faces and practiced English with us or just said hi. It was lots of fun. I would have loved to spend more time with them!

I'm really glad I got the chance to meet his teacher. I was able to ask about his math level and that will be helpful when we start school. He seems to be happy with the idea of homeschooling which is great. I know I'll want him home for a while to get adjusted etc. But I think he may want to go to public school eventually as he is obviously very social! And of course he has been raised around groups of chidren.

The bad news. . .I don't have any cute pictures of the school because they are all (and there are lots of them) on the video camera and I don't know how to upload from that. But we will eventually. Kai Wei took the camera for a long time and got pictures of all his classmates! For now here are some pictures at the zoo and one of Kai Wei and Baba playing ping pong at Jonah House. I think Dana won.