Last week Asher and I went for a walk in a nearby park. It's such a relief to me that the days are getting longer. The sun was setting around 4 for awhile, which makes the day seem really short, but all of the sudden it's getting dark at 6. Yeah! So one evening around 5 we were in the park. When I stopped at a bench, and I heard a man shouting in my general direction, but he was far enough away that I wasn't sure of what he was saying, and since I don't know many people here, it didn't seem like he could actually be yelling at me. Then his yells were becoming more persistent. He was also jingling some keys, so I thought maybe he was calling his dog or something. [This line of thinking made sense at the time.] It did sort of seem like he was trying to get my attention, but since I'm not in the habit of running towards men I don't know who are yelling at me in the park, I started walking briskly in the opposite direction. Before too long it became obvious that I was the only one around. I realized that they lock up their parks at night and that the man could have been trying to lock up. So I hurried back where the man was furiously waiting, and he gave me quite the talking to. I told him that I was sorry and that I didn't understand what he had been saying, but he didn't believe me and let me know just how he felt about that. I guess in his mind only an idiot wouldn't have understood, and since I'm sooo obviously not an idiot, I must have been a park rebel. I should have brought along a can of spray paint - it would have been easy to hide in the buggy. I could have left my "Mommy Rulz" mark somewhere and totally gotten away with it. :) Almost all of my walks in Bloomington were after work and so after five, and I just really couldn't make sense of the situation at first. So it was funny in retrospect and embarrassing at the time to see how he thought I was trying to steal extra park time. I think this is a good example of how being in a foreign country can make you feel like you're six again and just not sure about how everything works.
I LOVED having my sister here for a week! I hope to have some pictures of her visit soon. Our favorite part of her trip was our visit to Powerscourt. It is such a beautiful place, and it was fun that she thought so, too. I always admire the taste of people who agree with me.
Asher is growing! He started out at just over six pounds and is now close to 14, and it's so fun to see him change and figure out the world around him. It's pretty neat when something as simple as discovering your own tongue or hand is enough to delight a person. Everyone says it gets easier after three months, and that means Friday. I'm so thankful that he is healthy and getting happier by the week.
1 comment:
I can totally relate to feeling like a kid because you don't know how things work in a foreign country. It can be funny and incredibly frustrating at the same time! If anything, your time in Ireland will give your more empathy for foreigners in the States. Hang in there, and keep writing down the wierd/funny/ridiculous things that happen to you.
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