Yesterday we spent time at the school in one of the classrooms. There were maybe ten kids at most ranging in age from 6 to 18. They go very slowly in school compared to how kids are taught in the States and it makes me realize how fortunate we are to have the schools we are blessed with.
Hannah has been amazing on the trip, the kids love her and she can make them laugh like nobody else here. I let her entertain as much as possible so I can hold and comfort the ones that are not playing.
Last night we went back to the BBQ with Maya and Sara then had a movie night at Sara’s apartment. We love love love Sara. She is the best, so much fun and loves the kids so much. Factoids from Sara- 1.) 90% of men in China smoke, only 10% of women, 2.) It is ok for the eggs to not be refrigerated as some eggs “the older they get the better they are”. My own factoid - they have workers that clean the street with homemade brooms but the land around the street is littered with trash.
Today we went to the Great Wall (my 3rd time there so I don’t have much to say about that). But I will chat about “Mario” AKA our taxi driver for the day. In over 5 hours of riding with him, I do not think that anyone passed us. I have been in many taxis in my 4 trips to China but this guy needs to find the Amazing Race because I think he is the million-dollar driver.
I might add that most people I encountered today did not like me. On the slide ride down the Great Wall I got yelled at 3 times, once for following too closely, once for going too fast and once for taking pictures. When we got back to the taxi “ Mario” was napping. We woke him up, he looked at his clock and shook his head mumbling something in Chinese - we were done 40 minutes early!
Xander - Diagnosis Autism. We rode with him and a nanny to his Autistic School and then went to on to the Great Wall. I am not sure when he got the diagnosis of Autism but he did not seem to be Autistic to me. He did not speak but made some noises; he would smile when we interacted with him. I have seen kids with some type of sensory deficits (such as hearing loss) display some Autistic traits. It makes me wonder if he had a hearing screen prior to that diagnosis. I also have seen babies adopted from orphanages that show traits that might be considered Autistic. Those self-stimulation traits can be a replacement for sensory deficits.
He seemed to crave affection. I sat by him on the way home. He let me wrap my arm around him and hold on to his arm, to keep him from flying out of the taxi. He grabbed my hand and held it, then he melted into my body with my arms wrapped around him in a hug and he fell asleep. As much as I hated the taxi ride, part of me wanted it to never end.
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