went, and what's more, I enjoyed it.
While I would normally shun the very notion of visiting an American
chain restaurant while overseas, there is something about this process
that makes you crave the familiar on a unprecedented scale. I suppose
it's because everything else is turned upside down and is a
challenge. The simplest of acts - like going to the grocery store -
becomes an exerise in communication skills and taxes every neuron to
figure out just what the heck is in the package of noodles and could
that really be pigs-feet flavouring. Having a touchstone like a deep
dish pizza just provides some relief. It's also not just that we have
to figure out dinner when the store fronts and menus are
indecipherable to you, it's that wenow have to do so with two children
in tow, one of whom we are still getting to know. And so, in this
strange world, Pizza Hut becomes a temporary mecca.
The restaurant was actually located in what can only be described as
another world. The area seems nothing like the rest of Nanning. It's
like someone dropped an American outdoor mall in the middle of the
city. Getting there, however, requires going through narrow streets
with all sorts of street food, crammed with people and moppets, small
shops selling everything from trinkets to shoes.
I've grown more used to the stares. I suppose like everything else,
you can start to tune them out a little. I find I can deflect them as
well with a little nod and smile - people with give you a startled nod
and then look away. I know we're an oddity, and frankly, I don't
think I'd do anything different in their position. If I wasn't such a
textbook introvert, it might even be fun!
All in all, Ren did have a better day. We're getting to know his
schedule and habits, and so hopefully have figured out a way to lessen
some of the sharper grief pangs. The morning started out with a trip
to a museum which showcased local ethnic communities and peoples. The
buidling itself is enormous and sits in the middle of a temporary
nowhere. We turned into the 'neighbourhood' where the museum was
located, and it was like driving into a sci-fi movie as the traffic
mysteriously vanished. Turns out the museum is located in the middle
the development waste-land that we had spied from the tower the day
before. It's a beautiful showcase, but there is no one around to see
it at the moment.
Unfortunately, it was hard to follow some of the information that Glen
provided as I was chasing the kids (or at least preventing one or the
other of them from climbing into the dioramas). In truth, though,
what made it really hard to listen to anything was that I was
endlessly saying hello to the few hundred school kids who were
wandering about the place and who would rush over to say hello to me.
The place was literally crawling with school kids, practically
vibrating. It acutally added to the sci-fi feel - think Lord of the
Flies Goes to the Museum.
Ren had a better day - having slept a pretty solid 11 hours last
night. I woke before him and snuck into the shower only to hear this
little whimper when I stepped out of the shower. I opened the door to
see him standing there shoes in hand. Once we put the shoes on and
gave him some sweet milk and a little time to wake up, he seemed ok
and was actually happy to ride the bus. He loves buses, actually, and
the prospect of getting in one makes him pretty happy. He's warming
up to Kohji too, and there was even a point this evening where I
thought he might sit on Kohji's lap. If nothing else, his first
English word is daddy. He likes to yell it and hit Kohji on the
nose. I'm hoping that by Saturday he'll be willing to sit with daddy
for at least a little bit, otherwise it's going to be a long flight to
Beijing.
Kiyomi's day was a little tougher. The constant inability to get near
mom is starting to wear a little on her. She's doing her best, but
over dinner when Ren started to warm up to Kohji while still
monopolizing mommy, Kiyomi's patience started to wear a little thin.
In her own words: "I just picked him up and I started to know Ren but
I really want to tell you something special - I helped him. Something
is wrong he just cries. One day I was crazy. I was sad - I was pushing
him actually, me and Ren were having a fight with mom because Ren
really likes sitting on mom. We feed fish I know that it was really
fun it was on the weekend I think." She's doing amazing, but at 4,
there are limits to reasonable expectations.
Me? I'm hanging in there, but the fatigue at the end of the day is
pretty overwhelming. Ren is pretty much in my arms or on my lad most
of the day, and it's taking some getting used to to have an extra
appendage afixed to me at all times. He's on me so often (and not an
unhefty weight either) that it's easy to forget how little he actually
is. It's only when he walks beside me holding my hand that I remember
he's just a little guy lost in the world and searching for his
touchstones.
Good night from Nanning.
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