In stitches

Less than two days in China, and already we found ourselves at the hospital. Trying to find things to do in a not so kid-friendly city has been a challenge. So we’ve been getting on buses to more familiar locales. We decided to stop at the zoo yesterday, which we’d never had much interest in visiting prior to kids. They have all the animals in glassed cages, though apparently conditions have actually improved in recent years. Not that we saw the much, because Daddy decided it was okay to encourage the boys to walk on some uneven cement blocks and then jump off the last one over some dirt to the pavement. Well, after a few minutes of this, Isaac lost his balance while landing and hit his head on the corner of one of the blocks. We thought initially it was a small cut and were just going to wash and bandage it, but the zoo staff encouraged us to go to the hospital and good we did, since after cleaning it up we could see it was bigger than we thought. The doctor seemed a bit nervous and unpracticed at stitches, but he was good and careful and Isaac barely cried and the wound is healing nicely. Of course he is using it as another badge of honor, or more like excuse to be fussy. We’re not sure how it’s always Isaac who always gets injured (that makes 3 head scars), but we’re grateful he also always gets away with minor ones. And still, he likes doctors. Last night he was laying in bed talking about "doctor help big ouch".

Meanwhile, Ethan continues to demand to be held constantly, which irritates Jack when he refuses to let him carry him! He keeps complaining his knee hurts (the same where Isaac still insists on wearing a bandaid), when the rest of the time he has no problem. It occurred to me today part of the reason, beyond the jet lag, might just be fear of all these strange faces and places – the crowds and traffic can be overwhelming. Still, Ethan for a change is eating much better than Isaac. He loves the “rou si” (meat strips) and even fish, which they’ve never liked before. However, we haven’t found any vegetables they will eat, so we are dosing up on the vitamins! We have also spent too much money on toys already, since we don't have many. But now every time I tell them we can't get something, Ethan says (enunciating pretty clearly), "too much money".

We looked at our first apartment for renting today. Kind of a disaster. Twice as far as she said it would be, and while many improvements had been made, it was still pretty run down and small and not really worth what she was asking. There was a “wee wee” outside with exercise equipment that the boys consider a park, but the whole place was dusty and ugly. We are apparently looking at some equally-priced but nicer ones tomorrow.

One thing I miss is real playgrounds. Parks of some kind are everywhere but there are only these areas for exercise – a great idea but not for kids. We tried a paddle boat on the lake one day, but didn’t stay out long once we realized it wasn’t exactly safe. That didn’t stop another family with three young children and three adults from piling in though! I have generally found that though child safety is not a legal priority, people take great pains to protect them. Children always get the priority for seats on buses and we are always being told to be careful. When Jack put Isaac on a bus seat and went to pay, the lady sitting next to him was very concerned, making sure he held on the bar and casting worried glances his way.

Of course, the boys are also the talk of the town. Everyone, from Chinese to foreigner alike, ooh and ahh over them. Everywhere we go passersby point them out to each other and comment "Twins! How cute!" Some tourists even took a picture of them eating kebabs (see previous post).