Relearning Small Talk

The other day I was quickly buying wet wipes.  A woman looked at me and asked, "do your children get bathed here?" I told her I shower them all at home and always have. She asked me if I take care of all of my children myself. We get asked this many times a day.  That was our small talk. 

I'm thinking about the few weeks we will soon have in the States. I'm thinking how different it will be to run into strangers. We might talk about the weather. They probably won't ask why my son wears glasses (I really need to learn the word for astigmatism in Chinese.) My kids will enjoy blending in.

I get told that I give my kids a lot of space. Maybe it's because I can usually see them from wherever I am. Everyone knows them.

If they fall into a bush and I'm not literally right there, someone else will help pull them out (or tell them to stop pulling themselves up on the wall.) My kids will have more than our wonderful concrete area to run about in and they will be "allowed" on grass.

But I will have to tell them not to accept candy from strangers like they can here. And I may have to show them another YouTube video about the importance of staying in my sight. Did I ever tell you how two years ago my little man did a runner from Grandpa at the zoo. He was found, held and did his share of screaming.

I'm not sure if kids randomly play with people that they don't know, like how all the kids do here.  It might not go over well if I talk about a kids haircut. Yesterday I asked why the woman's little "girl" had buzzed hair. She said that it is "his" normal haircut. So then I asked why she put orange leggings and a dress with silver glitter writing on him? He was also wearing has ruffled socks and riding a pink scooter. Without any embarrassment she said she thought they were boys clothes when she bought them. She didn't want to waste them so "for these days" he will wear them. 

I'm thinking, in the States, people will probably smile and do small talk. Maybe we won't get into why sons may feel shy and embarrassed wearing leggings and a dress to school.

I'm looking forward to getting tips from others and being around more families with similar backgrounds. You all can share with me tips on everything from raising more than one kid, schooling stuff, etc. 

People probably won't look at me with a perplexed look when I tell them what I cook for dinner; they probably won't ask. Over here conversations revolve around "have you eaten" and "what do you cook."

I will probably bathe the kids in a tub and maybe it will almost be like how the kids do baby swimming here:) 

The second floor of the baby store I was at has a little pool and huge sinks. They are all used for bathing babies. People buy an annual pass that allows them to come a couple of times a week for baby bathing. There are specialists who take care of bathing your baby. Some shops will tell you that they only use purified water. Some shops include a small baby massage. Each time a baby is bathed, the sinks or huge pool will use a big plastic liner so that everything is clean. It's a one time use gigantic bag. Newborns and babies are fitted with inner tubes around their necks.

They float while the specialist cleans them. Every baby seems to love their swimming time. These places are everywhere including: in malls, outside apartment complexes, at hospitals, etc. I always love seeing newborns floating around.

Maybe while we are back, Grandpa, the specialist, might assist with some bathing times. And it will almost seem like we were just back here, taking about bath times...

We are looking forward to blue skies, seeing family and catching up while we are back.

                Thanks for reading!