Kylie knows how to say banana now. And umbrella in Chinese. And she knows the possessive word (the 's in English) in Chinese. Her sentences are almost coherent and today when Mom came inside from the backyard with Kylie perched on her hip. I almost thought she looked too big to be doing that. As a teammate pointed out last week, Kylie has grown so much since we moved here to North Carolina. Unlike me, who over ten years of her life in the peachy state of Georgia, Kylie is officially an NC kid.
North Carolina gives me the impression of being hillbilly, if that's a proper word. The Raleigh farmer's market is phenomena. The air is crisp and fresh except when it's hot and stuffy... you know what I mean, at least it's clean. Greenways, paved paths that don't allow motorized vehicles, provide safe ways for recreational exercise to the NC communities. In Georgia, we practically had a library in our backyard. I was never allowed there on my own, for two reasons. One, the walk was apparently too far, though it was less than a mile. Two, it was unsafe. And indeed it was. Despite being located in a well-off, suburban area of the greater Atlanta Area, our community has had multiple encounters with sexual predators.
A close friend's little sister is in 8th grade this year, and was approached in her neighborhood (a pretty expensive, clean, new neighborhood) by a questionable man in a ratty car. He asked her where she lived and other personal questions. The girl, very smart, ignored him and walked to her friends at the school bus stop to the local middle school. Another instance occurred when I had a friend over. We were crossing a small street to go to a local Menchie's and Kroger on a grocery run for my mom. Guys in a white truck slowed and stopped near us multiple times, whistling and yelling suggestive things, as well as asking for personal information.
I'm not implying that Cary will be unsafe. In fact, it's ranked number 43 as the best places to live in America, out of the bazillions of towns and cities we have here. I'm just wondering, what of a town isn't reflected in it's statistics? We've been here nearly a year and everything has checked out. However, we lived in our last house for 5 before anything extraordinary happened. Only time will reveal Cary's character.
-Chichi
Showing posts with label north carolina. Show all posts
Showing posts with label north carolina. Show all posts
Monday, May 21, 2012
Monday, April 16, 2012
Heat Wave
Here in North Carolina, really in all of Bible Belt America, it's been heating up. The last 3 days have been some of the hottest days we've had all year. My little sister, recovering from yet another ear infection, has not been happy.
Today's entry is about the in-between. Everyone knows and hates the in-between, when it's still pollen-y outside, air full of allergens, yet the sun is beating on our backs and torturing us with 90 degree weather, and mosquitoes start sneaking into the house. Neighborhood pools aren't yet open (though I don't think ours even has a pool). Here in the south, droughts have been recurring for the past few years, so no beautiful sprinklers either. What is there to do when the blithering sun is languishing even the most energetic of us?
My family and I took my little sister to the playground near our house a couple of times this weekend. Before it's too dark and too much of bug territory, we sneak a few hours in the sun. But those few hours have to be before noon or around 3 or 4. They must be oh-so-precisely timed or we'll be stuck in the heat on the walk back. Once we get to the playground, the slide is hot, the swing sets are as well.
In fact, everywhere is hot. Today, I struggled and winced my way into opening a doorknob to get into the studio at which I take music lessons. Kylie's car seat buckles, black colored plastic, is hot to the touch while buckling. I'm honestly surprised that she hasn't protested because of it, yet. The worst thing about all of this is that the worse has yet to come. Summer's not even begun, and we're already suffocating under the sun.
On another note, our grandmother arrived from China last Thursday. She'll be spending 6 months with us, primarily to help care for Kylie. She cared for Kylie between Kylie's 2 months and 8 months old, but Kylie's pretty much just re-met her. One of the shiest babies' I know, it took her less than 2 days to completely warm up to our grandmother. ♥
-Chichi
Today's entry is about the in-between. Everyone knows and hates the in-between, when it's still pollen-y outside, air full of allergens, yet the sun is beating on our backs and torturing us with 90 degree weather, and mosquitoes start sneaking into the house. Neighborhood pools aren't yet open (though I don't think ours even has a pool). Here in the south, droughts have been recurring for the past few years, so no beautiful sprinklers either. What is there to do when the blithering sun is languishing even the most energetic of us?
My family and I took my little sister to the playground near our house a couple of times this weekend. Before it's too dark and too much of bug territory, we sneak a few hours in the sun. But those few hours have to be before noon or around 3 or 4. They must be oh-so-precisely timed or we'll be stuck in the heat on the walk back. Once we get to the playground, the slide is hot, the swing sets are as well.
In fact, everywhere is hot. Today, I struggled and winced my way into opening a doorknob to get into the studio at which I take music lessons. Kylie's car seat buckles, black colored plastic, is hot to the touch while buckling. I'm honestly surprised that she hasn't protested because of it, yet. The worst thing about all of this is that the worse has yet to come. Summer's not even begun, and we're already suffocating under the sun.
On another note, our grandmother arrived from China last Thursday. She'll be spending 6 months with us, primarily to help care for Kylie. She cared for Kylie between Kylie's 2 months and 8 months old, but Kylie's pretty much just re-met her. One of the shiest babies' I know, it took her less than 2 days to completely warm up to our grandmother. ♥
-Chichi
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