THE YUCKY BITS.....
These past 2 nights we have had lots of waking up at 1am. Well I wake up. Saray just sobs loudly in her sleep. Vitha snores through every episode. I'm not sure how, as Saray alternates her bouts of sobbing with talking Khmer in her sleep. She doesn't want to be held at the time and fights me in her sleep. The only contact she wants is to grasp on to an arm or leg with her little pincers. Gotta cut those fingernails. This morning I asked her about the nightmares and she closed her eyes, pointed to her head and said in Khmer "I sleep and my friends are in here". She was so happy that I couldn't bring myself to ask about the sobbing.
Today was the lowlight so far though. Being a caucasian living in a Chinese country with two [much darker] Khmer kids is interesting at the best of times. Sometimes (like today) I just find the attention downright intrusive. We were out walking when something reminded Saray of Cambodia and she started to cry. I've found there's not a lot I can do when a wave of sadness hits, other than ride out the moment and provide comfort. Saray is not out-of-control, kicking and screaming. She sobs quietly and stares into space (the popular "orphanage look" that many adoptive families know really well). Then when it's all over she takes a big deep breath and gets back on track with whatever she was doing beforehand. It's uncomfortable for her family but the crying seems to serve a purpose for her. But boy, when it happened in public people obviously thought I had taken a stick to her backside, or worse.
FUN BITS.....
We are still having lots of fun though! The scabies are largely gone and the fact that the word "itchy" has disappeared from Saray's vocabulary must mean I'm doing something right. She has loosened up on the "egg front" and is now quite happy to eat only 2 per day. She is still fixated on shopping (wants to buy the very first thing you come across in a shop and is very clear that you must buy something for her because you love her). I'm getting around that by not taking her to the shops at all if I can help it. She and Wilma go grocery shopping each day with a defined list and she gets to help choose the ingrediants for dinner. Today they bought a whole fish and Saray was so excited she could only gabble and hold her hands apart in every increasing lengths. Something like the fish that got away but in reverse; the one they "caught" kept getting bigger in her imagination.
SCHOOL....
Saray is going to start school in a couple of weeks. She will be going to the Taipei British School, but a different campus than her big brother Vitha. We visited her new classroom before Chinese New Year break and Saray was very impressed. Although they have a whole new group of kids starting together soon she will go into an existing class with an established structure and routine. Saray is more excited about getting a new backpack than anything else. She wants pink but Vitha is claiming veto rights.
VITHA....
The last words should rightly go to Vitha, who has proven himself once again to be the most amazing son a mother could have. He is a great big brother who is bearing the pain of sharing a room and his life very well. Now if he could just get Saray to play soccer with him.....
NAKEDNESS...
Saray has taken to running naked around the house screaming "BOTTOM" at the top of her lungs. Until now she has been covered in residual scabs from a scabies infestation. But finally they are clearing up and she is happy to show all and sundry. Although she is scarred from her legs up to her lower back she is just happy not to be scratching constantly. Every morning proudly proclaims she is "no itchy".
Vitha is a pre-teen and disgusted by these displays of naked abandon (he's particularly offended by the "naked" part of the behaviour). He had to be reminded that when he was 5 he liked to show his genitals to all and sundry. Including the entire Sunday-morning-brunch crowd at our favourite restaurant in Phnom Penh. Of course he does not remember and proclaimed (amidst a great deal of dramatic sighing) that I was exaggerating. Oh I wish I had photos.....
She has also traded her egg-iness for an interest in hair bows. Yes, you can count hair bows too and the best thing is nobody eats then when you're not looking. A friend gave her a big bag of ornate hair bows - the worst of the frilly selection - and Saray is in seventh heaven.
SCHOOL...
Vitha is heading into the last half of primary school (and the dreaded standardised tests that the British system submit 6th graders to). He has just written his first real "essay" with proper structure and arguments. His topic was whether school uniforms are necessary. Of course he came down on the NO side of the house. I noticed a few of my opinions appeared in his essay in the affirmative!
Saray is in nursery class 2 days per week and at the moment I stay in the classroom with her. Next week is the big test as she will be on her own and in school every day from 9am-12:30pm. She likes school and has made friends with Julia, another little Aussie girl. To see them sit together is a demonstration of Australia's multiculturalism. There is Saray, my dark haired, petite little sliver of a kid. And Julia, a blond, blue eyed sporty gal with a mean footback kick already. I'm hoping Julia will convert Saray to Vegemite sandwiches but I'm doubtful....
PLAY...
We are going to Australia...we are going to Australia....well okay, so it's not for another 5 weeks but we are going. Although Vitha has been down a couple of times, I haven't been home since a flying business trip in 2000. Can't wait.
MISSING CAMBODIA...
We all miss Cambodia. Is it possible to still have withdrawal symptoms after so long? Each time we come back Vitha is ratty for several days and so am I. Poor Saray is still suffering homesickness but we seem to have found a semi-cure. An acquaintance visited the orphanage this week and took a photo of her best friend. Her friend is smiling in the picture and I've managed to convince Saray she's smiling at HER. That seems to have made things better.
SIBLING RIVALRY...
Well it had to happen. Saray is moving bedrooms. Sharing only worked for a couple of weeks before the niggling started. It's not unbearable, but one less stress I won't need (especially once I'm back at work). So the TV room is becoming Saray's bedroom and Vitha will be able to reinstate his "no pink" policy throughout his own domain. Saray's forays (at least 6 per night) involve turning on lights, opening and closing doors and loudly jangling her leg bracelet (EXTRA loudly, according to Vitha). Her big brother needs a solid 10 hours sleep or he finds it hard to make it through a day at school. So Saray is moving. She was hoping to be joining me in my bed. I wondered why she was so elated when I told her she was not. It was only afterwards I heard her telling Vitha that she was going to have a TV... Poor thing, it hasn't dawned on her that I'm moving out the electronic equipment before she moves in!