Before I tell you about the actual day, let me just say that on Saturday, another mom watched Zac while I went out on my own to get a few things. I was pretty impressed with myself - again, I instructed the taxi driver where to go and arrived back in one piece with all of my items intact and the biggest grin on my face ever! Not only did I pick up a few other things needed for the apartment, I got some much needed flat shoes, birthday stuff, and most importantly, the CAKE! And I didn't drop it getting a taxi! :)
Buying things is still an adventure. I was in Walmart trying to buy paper plates. I thought I was so clever because I went to the kitchen section, held up a dinner plate in one hand and my piece of paper in the other, and proceeded to say, "PAPER...PLATES!" over and over again...but to no avail. GAHHHH! What else is there for me to do in that situation?? I also had zero luck in acting out wrapping paper. But at least a decent sized crowd formed around me as I tried to explain it. Candles were also a lost cause (in the end, the bakery gave some to me with the cake) - but I'm sure many people got a kick out of me blowing imaginary candles out over and over again.
Ordering the cake was pretty funny too. The ladies thought I was trying to tell them my son was 29 years old! They looked a little confused. The cakes I got were so AWESOME! One for home, and another small one for school (it was a red angry bird. Zac loved it).
Anyways, the actual day. In the morning, I gave Zac his presents (a cool robot clock and a small digital camera so he can document our trip) and Zac skyped with a variety of family and friends (who either did something in his honour, sang happy birthday, or baked him a pie! That he couldn't eat). Then we headed out to McDonalds for brunch. Not long after we sat down, a group of high school girls sat next to us and, clearly speaking about us, spent some time giggling and talking in Mandarin and looking at us before telling Zac they thought he was beautiful. They spoke English well enough so we spoke with them for awhile before they asked to sing Zac happy birthday. I got out my camera, expecting it to be sung in Mandarin, but they were showing off their English skills (though they couldn't pronounce his name). Next, they asked Zac to take a picture with them. Zac looked horrified and I thought it was hilarious. He agreed, and I took a picture of them taking a picture of him :P However, I think from now on we will have to politely decline.
After McDonalds, we met with Sandy and her two kids and we all went on the look out for "the monkey park." Nobody at school knows the park's actual name, but many teachers recommended it and Zac wanted to go. We passed it and took twice as long getting there as we should have, but I was glad we found it for Zac. The park is beautiful, with plenty of walking trails and bridges and flowers. The monkeys were found in one specific spot, and the kids loved them. They had peanuts to feed them, and often the monkeys would take the peanuts right from their hand. Though there were cages, many of the monkeys were actually outside of the cakes, hanging around in trees. One surprised Zac by walking right up to him for a peanut!
I was immensely amused by one woman in particular who stared at Zac in fascination and proceeded to pinch and squeeze his cheeks...a lot. I couldn't help but laugh at the expression on Zac's face. Later, when the woman was coming back along the path, I gave Zac a warning and he bolted in the other direction. Bahaha! I told him that he was free to politely excuse himself if he doesn't want random people grabbing his cheeks. At the same park, it was my turn to get asked to take a picture. So strange.
When we left the monkey park, it was after 4pm, which was a problem. In Wuhan, between 4-6 it's difficult to catch a taxi because they're all switching shifts. We waited for about 30 minutes before walking for another 20 and finally got a taxi so that we could go get some sushi! The restaurant was awesome - we had to take off our shoes and sit on pretty little pillows. The food was delicious, and Zac had squid for the first time (well, the first time he knew that he was eating squid, anyways!).
We went back to the apartment and had several people over for cake. Sandy and her kids came, as well as Vicki (Mandarin teacher at school) and her twin daughters, who gave Zac three fish. Zac was also thrilled to get a hamster (on loan - while we are here). Molly, her husband Derek (another teacher at Zac's school) and their son Eli (one year old) also came over. Zac and Eli have become fast friends, and it's adorable to see them playing together :) James, another teacher, also came by - Zac bonded with James on the flight over. The kids played, we sang happy birthday, ate cake, and Zac got a few presents.
It was pretty great :)
No comments:
Post a Comment