Bite Me
Cici has been showing me two bites on her legs for a couple of days. She kept calling them mosquito bites, but they seemed to be too swollen and hard to be mosquito bites. Today the signature mark of a fire ant bite was in the middle of one swollen area on her leg, and I could see where she had scratched it off from the other bite. I showed pictures of a fire ant to Ping and Cici so they will know what to watch out for in the future. Those little suckers are wicked. If they get on you, they will bite, no provocation required.
I was a little concerned tonight because Ping had pressured me last night to talk with Cici and set a time by which Cici must turn off her laptop each night. This was a tactic that I didn't agree with, but Ping felt strongly about it so I met with Cici and talked about it. I think Cici knows me well enough now to know that this wasn't my idea. She probably even knows that I don't agree with it. Nevertheless, the messenger is always at risk.
It looks like I escaped retribution. Cici came and sat with me in our home office this evening for no apparent purpose other than chatting with me. She showed me her bites again and talked about school. She offered to get some watermelon for me. Then we were talking about languages and discovered that we both find the same foreign language bothersome. I was searching for the word to describe how it makes us feel when we hear someone speaking the language, but Cici supplied the word. Annoying. That's it! I said. I am impressed that you know the exact word for which I was searching.
Ping and Cici have picked up quite a few expressions that they have heard enough to remember them, and their vocabularies have expanded considerably since they arrived in America. Cici's has expanded more quickly because of her daily immersion in an English speaking environment, and she often supplies the word to Ping in Chinese. Then Ping spells it and pronounces it repeatedly so that she can learn a new word.
Here are some timely words. Bed time.
I was a little concerned tonight because Ping had pressured me last night to talk with Cici and set a time by which Cici must turn off her laptop each night. This was a tactic that I didn't agree with, but Ping felt strongly about it so I met with Cici and talked about it. I think Cici knows me well enough now to know that this wasn't my idea. She probably even knows that I don't agree with it. Nevertheless, the messenger is always at risk.
It looks like I escaped retribution. Cici came and sat with me in our home office this evening for no apparent purpose other than chatting with me. She showed me her bites again and talked about school. She offered to get some watermelon for me. Then we were talking about languages and discovered that we both find the same foreign language bothersome. I was searching for the word to describe how it makes us feel when we hear someone speaking the language, but Cici supplied the word. Annoying. That's it! I said. I am impressed that you know the exact word for which I was searching.
Ping and Cici have picked up quite a few expressions that they have heard enough to remember them, and their vocabularies have expanded considerably since they arrived in America. Cici's has expanded more quickly because of her daily immersion in an English speaking environment, and she often supplies the word to Ping in Chinese. Then Ping spells it and pronounces it repeatedly so that she can learn a new word.
Here are some timely words. Bed time.
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