Difference in Culture

I had the bright idea that we needed to take a family outing this afternoon. We don't get the chance to wonder far from our apartment complex with two children under two. It is just not the easiest thing to do. So, today, I thought, we need to get out! So, after nap time, Clark and I took Sadie and Jack down to the local "Walmart" which had an inside play area. We were so excited to see that when we got there we were the only ones there. It is nice to have it all to ourselves and Sadie can run around like crazy. Slowly other families showed up. While it was nice to have others for Sadie to play with, it is always a bit tricky. They parent or grandparent very different than we do and so it is hard to deal with Sadie when she is wanting something that someone else has. It was about 5:00 and time to go home and oh my Sadie did not want to leave. You see the picture above? Oh, it was much worse than that! And of course this would be the time when every Chinese person comes out of the word work. We continue to put on her shoes, her jacket and get our things together, because it is time to go. And this is when I wish I didn't know how to speak Chinese. One older grandma looked at me and said, she isn't ready to go, she wants to play more. You need to let her get down and play more. I had a lot of not nice thoughts at that point but I controlled myself and looked at her and said, we don't have time for her to play more and she needs to learn to obey me. When I tell her it is time to go, she needs to listen and obey. And of course that brought on a lot of laughter from those around me and the more I heard people laughing, the frustrated I got. We finally got Sadie into her stroller and headed out. Two minutes later, she was completely fine. But I was still trying to calm my poor nerves down!
You see, it is much different in China. I have been on the playground with other parents and have seen them ask their child a million umpteenth times if they were ready to leave. They wait until the child is ready and don't demand obedience from them. And I should say, this is only from my observation, I am sure not everyone is like this. So, to have a screaming child is just not something you see very often. But I assure you, they got their fill today!

So, that started my "Not so nice China day" If any of you have lived overseas, you know what I am talking about. We head into "walmart" (at least as close as you can get here) because I wanted to buy a blender. I found the perfect one that I wanted. It wasn't too expensive but yet it was sturdy. I had asked all of the questions about it to the worker who was helping me and then I told her I wanted to buy it and so she looks at me and says, "oh you can't buy it" What?? What do you mean I can't buy it? Well, the box had been opened and they wouldn't sell it to me. Oh, I was not a happy camper! I had just went through all of that for you to tell me that I can't buy the blender....not happy, I tell you.

We go about the rest of our shopping picking up odds and ends and we had decided to go by KFC on our way out and pick up some dinner to take home with us. So much for that, the line was so long it was going to take 30 minutes just to pick up dinner. So, we head home and have peanut butter sandwiches instead.

Definitely not my ideal day at all, but on a brighter note, the weather is warmer and Sadie and I enjoyed a wonderful morning outside! We got to talk to lots of people and enjoyed playing together, I love mornings like that!!

I also made some veggie pancakes for lunch. Oh my were they yummy! I used a pancake recipe and put in grated carrot, zucchini and cheese. Sadie and I gobbled them right up.

And good news in the sleeping area, she slept all night without waking up!! Praise the Lord!! Now, praying that it happens again tonight....

I am in need of a nice long bubble bath...now if only I had a bathtub....