All the Little Children

I have seen many different scenarios with children in them. Today, for instance, as we drove into Putian (in the Fuzhou province) I had my first experience of school children letting out. There is a mix of uniformed and non, though I don't know why, and they usually wear pigtails or pony tails and almost always walk hand in hand. I have also seen what I assume to be a big brother biking his little brother home, though I also am aware that there are some rules about number of children allowed per family that still exist in China. I have also seen little bear bottomed children running around near their parents in the big city, and one little girl who wandered into the legs of an elderly woman, looked up, and started screaming, only to run back to her laughing father. I also met the son of the General Manager of our first audit, and she told him to speak English with me, and he was terrified. So I said hello in Chinese and he quickly backed his way out of the room. In the hall you could hear him exclaim something to his mother in full voice, which was translated to me as "Mom! Why did you have to embarrass me like that!!??"

All in all, I think we are the same around the world. Children are perhaps the best demonstration of our similarities. They are all curious, they are all bold, they are all inquisitive, and yet they hide behind their parents when they are scared.

Time difference. I am 15 hours ahead of California.