For so many years now hubby and I have been on our own. All our children are grown with families and nests of their own. For the last 2 years we've been spending our 24 hours of the day together with occasional interruptions from our grandkids. Life have been very quiet for us - hubby with his TV shows and little vegetable garden, and I with everything I can put my mind and hands on. Then came this offer of homestay parenting. At first we were apprehensive. Can we do it? We asked ourselves. Oh, yes, we can!
We found out that we can still take care of early teen-agers (13-15). We can still wake up earlier than usual and we can still relate to the young. Oh, BTW, we can take care of girls, too, after rearing three boys and now being blessed with four grandsons! lol.....
Didn't know that most Chinese children attend boarding schools from age 7. They see their parents only on weekends. I still remember the first time I waved bye-bye to my father to stay in a dormitory. That was when I attended college. I felt awful. I felt so alone. I cried. Wonder how they must have felt on their first night away from home.
But I learned how to take care of myself and be independent as these girls do. Longing for one's parent is so universal. The first thing they did when they first arrived was to call home. I remember our own children doing the same.
Geographical differences exist even among countrymen. Just ask a girl from Hunan or Xian or any other place. She will tell you.
No two individuals are the same (how many times have I heard that)! For our first pair, one loves rice porridge to the bones, as they say, while the other just nibbles at her bowl. But the nibbler loves watermelon as if it is the only fruit on earth, thus the nickname Watermelon King, while the other doesn't care what fruit is on the table.... and many more.
And....they are very quiet in every way, which hubby and I find very interesting.
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