We woke up frustrated today. as a group. Last night was hot, hot, hot–it’s cooled off every other night, but not last night. There was tossing, there was turning, and two of the three of us in my room fell out of bed at least once. We woke up itchy and ready to crawl out of our skins, and with no appetite for another huge Guo-men breakfast. The troops were rebelling.

And, of course, there was nothing my mom and I could do about it but encourage them to make the best of what we had. Try the new flavor of steamed bun. (I bet they have a 7-day rotation). Have some won-ton soup for breakfast. Coke for breakfast, too–a great American tradition they’ve never before taken part in.

Back upstairs, we skyped. We made paper dolls (again). We played iPhone and Nintendo–again. We had lunch, and again, no one particularly wanted anything that was there but you know what? We ate it anyway. All of us. Not a lot of it, but we’ve learned we really don’t need to eat a whole lot.

And somehow, Lily and Wyatt found a way, after all this time, to band together again and start making their own fun (crushing sweet tart to put in water to make juice) and Sam read a book and practiced card tricks while my mom and I read, and then the three of us settled down for a card game while Lily and Wyatt continued their messy science project in the bathroom.

And then it was five, and time for the pigs, the penguins and then the sheep, a triad of Chinese cartoon that have been improving our witching hour all week. (Chinese cartoons, at least the ones we’ve seen, feature super-cute characters along the lines of Hello Kitty–only armed.) The pigs are on now. Next comes dinner outside, and then a movie, and then bed.
We’ve very nearly done it. It’s hard to believe nothing will go wrong, but maybe it won’t. Our appointments, our meeting Rory, are all being re-organized. Everyone is being helpful, expediting, doing what they can. In the end, this is going to keep us here an extra 6 days, but it could have been worse–it would have been fewer, if not for the 7/3 consulate holiday.
Fourth of July, China style. Maybe the embassy has a celebration.