May 2005. 6th birthday party. Home.
People often comment to us how mature Yiran sounds on the phone. She handles calls in both English and Chinese with ease and propriety. “Hello… Yes this is Yiran… Okay, hold a minute please.” To grandparents (in Chinese), “I am done speaking. Can I give the phone to mama now?”
One day, mommy turned on NPR news while taking Yiran to school early in the morning . Yiran said, “Mama there is a problem in the car.” “What’s the problem?” “Two people are in the car but only one of them is enjoying the talk.” Mommy switched to a music station, and Yiran responded cheekily, “Thank you!” A couple of days later, she did the same with daddy who picked her up from gymnastics.
After going to bed, she may say, “I don’t feel comforted and my eyes won’t close.” During a recent ski trip, she made friends with another 6 year old girl. She brought her to mommy and said, “Mom, would you like to meet my friend Anna?” One day Grandma asked her what time daddy comes home from work. Yiran said, “I don’t know what time daddy comes home. When he comes home, I’m so busy giving him kisses and I never have time to look at the clock!”
Before summer 2005, Yiran and Luran went to the same school. Whenever they saw each other at school, they would hug and kiss. She also would ask Luran’s teacher to “say hello to my brother”. Now even though they attend different schools, they still share the same art teacher and Yiran is asking the same favor of the art teacher. The teachers tell us that they have never seen two siblings so close to each other.
October 2005, the grandparents came to live with us on a permanent basis. Ever since then, we have made a new rule at the dinner table: everyone should try to speak in Chinese; choosing not to speak in a language that everybody understands is disrespectful. Yiran sticks to the rules the best and often reminds others to do the same.
One speaking activity that Yiran enjoys very much is yanxi -- the retelling and reenacting of the Chinese stories we read together. She has taken on the role of nüwa, jingwei, zhisou, and many others and does a superb job detailing the stories, improvising transitions between plots as well as providing perspectives.
