Penang -- Week 11 -- Play group hosting.

MONDAY-WEDNESDAY
More sling training. Every day I'm carrying Regin on my back while I clean and at nap times, and he's getting used to being put to sleep there. It can take a while though, so I'm definitely getting a work out. I wonder if this is enough training for that hike?


I webcammed with JoAnn. Yay! It's not easy, and there is sometimes video but no audio, and sometimes you're waiting several seconds (minutes?) for the image to update, but it's really nice to see someone from home.

I had kind of an upset this week. I learned that there was a Salsa Congress in Penang, while we were here. And! We! Didn't! Know! I'm determined to hook into any salsa community that exists here. Enough waiting. We're going to find some places and go dancing. Shanti offers to babysit.

I contacted this one place claiming to be a salsa club. No salsa websites mention them so I wrote them an email. Here is their automatically generated response:

"Contact Us / Feed back
Thank you for sending message .We will revert you as early as possible after processing the requirement. "

Huh?



THURSDAY
It's my turn to host playgroup today. Yikes! I'm a a frantic crazy woman getting the place ready beforehand, but then when people arrive, it's TERRIFIC, and I remember how much I love hosting. I didn't know I missed it till now. Brandi can't make it, but Rachel & Missy can. Rachel is delayed though, so it's just me and Missy and our boys to begin with.
Missy and Paul.

We chat about things such as the funny misuses of English we've read (I'm collecting these to share with you guys later) and some of the challenges that third-culture kids face. It's an interesting discussion and she tells me that it's important that the parents of these kids treat mentions of the US carefully since American expat kids have a tendency to develop a distate for American culture and we don't need to exacerbate things. After all, these kids will more than likely have to re-enter American culture at some point and this will just make things harder.

As she says all this I am trying to decide if I should tell her that I am one of those kids, and that I share their prejudice. So I confess to her that I still struggle with it, she says she does too, after all she grew up an American kid in Indonesia and Penang. It's a good chat and I may have to take some of what she said to heart. I can't go on having my prejudices against America forever.

Elijah is a funny kid.
Missy asks him to bring a few toys from the playroom out to where we are, and he brings everything and dumps it all out on the floor in the biggest mess you've seen. So much for my pristine place that I had this morning! Then he proceeds to go back into the playroom and tear apart all the letters in Regin's puzzle play mat. But he's really enjoying himself. And when it is time to leave, he doesn't want to go. Cool! Haha! I am already desperate for kids' approvals.

By the time Rachel arrives with Abe...
...Missy and crew have to go. It's also really nice hanging with Rachel. We chat for a long time and she is very excited about all the wood toys I have for Abe to play with.