Rally for Yute, and missin' kiddos

Rallying the final edits, rallying the website, rallying the spam! Go forth, my pretties!

In Yute news:

Today I received confirmation that the first (non-final, edition edition) hardcopy of Watching Yute is rocketing in my general direction! Two of the editors have already had a crack at the digital copy, and things are going smooth- but it is definitely not the time ot drag my heels.

(Side note: When I take too many bumps in the street in my wheelchair, occasionally a foot will slip off the front plate thing, and I can often drag a foot for quite a while before I notice, subconsciously blaming dirt in the front axels or something...)

Back on topic! I'm revamping my website a bit. THIS BLOG will finally be introduced into it better, as well as a Wiki that will chronicle characters, equipment, and other factors from Lifehack and Watching Yute... with only minor spoilers. I'm sorry to say that I will not allow the public to EDIT the wiki, just browse it. I don't have the kind of support network that Wikipedia has to prevent vandalism and such- not to mention, I want control over the severity of spoilers given... but it is a BLAST editing it. hehe.

Caitlin News

This week, I'm missin' my lil girl and my wife. They went camping, and I've been doing my best to utilize my toddler-less time to the max. Busy enough that I don't have time to miss Caitlin until my front wheel smacks into a rogue soother or something.

She has a little dinette set, and she's found a long time ago that dragging her little chair to the kitchen will allow her improved reach onto counters...

So, last week she notices that the shower curtain's rings have little plastic fish on them.
"MY'S?" she pleads while reaching for them with one hand, and sighning 'please' with the other. "Hep? Hep?"

I can't reach them either, and to illustrate, I park my wheelchair as close as I can, and reach up. "Sorry bunny, I can't reach either, not that I want you to have them..."

She runs off, and I roll my eyes, waiting to hear the inevitable... the little chair being dragged down the hall across the hardwood, making a horrid screech... on and on, closer and closer. She turned the corner with it, and see me, glad I didn't go anywhere. She places the little chair by the shower, and looks up at the little fish.

Instead of getting up on the chair, she pats my foot, then pats the chair. "Hep? Pees?" She wanted me to use the little chair to get up and get her the fish. "It doesn't work like that, hon!" I'm just glad she got distracted before running to get my reach-extender thing. She knows what THAT'S all about, but hasn't mastered it herself.

In other Caitlin news, Leela the cat has become a little more comfortable with Caitlin, but this is a dangerous complacency. I was watching Caitlin following the cat at a casual pace.... then I see Caitlin grab a nerby roll of packing tape.

Surely she can't get the end of the tape loose- except that my wife had folded the end. "Vrrp!" in less than a second, Caitlin has the end in one hand, the roll in the other, and is still following behind Leela like some creepy stalker. It took me a moment to come to tems with the criminal intent portrayed before me, and Leela was oblivious to the fur-ripping hazard behind her.

"DON'T TAPE THE CAT!" I can barely get out without laughing. This distracts Caitlin long enough, and alerts Leela, who jumps up onto a nearby windowsill. Crisis averted. For now.

Students

Today will likely be the last time I see the German girl that stayed with us for the past year. A few weeks ago her family arrived, and they went on a bit of a tourism junket which included crossing the rockies and hitting the Calgary Stampede. When they left for that, it was teary farewell between her and Caitlin, who would not be here upon her return. She's grabbing some luggage that she didn't need in Calgary.

This past year we were very fortunate with our two students. Aside from this girl, (who I haven't given a codename yet) we had Radar for a third and final year before she went to university. Radar was with us for three years, and as far as 2 year old Caitlin knew, this fun Korean girl was her big sister. Now THAT was a teary parting. They were just wonderful together. Caitlin didn't really understand. As a silver lining, Radar is going to University in Canada... just thw wrong end of it- So I wouldn't be too shocked if we see her again.

Even aside from Radar's bond with Caitlin, I miss the students too. They were a kindly, pleasant presence in our home. I can only hope that the students in the coming year will be even a fraction as nice. Hosting students is rewarding, but emotionally perilous. I always say they we try to treat our students as much like family as they're comfortable with. They're brave, going to the other side for the world at that age, often with limited english. If we can be a positive impact on thier experience... well, we do our best. And I miss em.

Over the last... 4? 5? Years, some students have become more a part of the household than others, and that's fine too. One was so homesick, she could think of little else. We tried, and she was nice enough, but still so homesick. We don't really profit too much from hosting financially. I know there are many hosts out there who treat thier students like cattle, and make money... but we spend so much on special foods, or trips... when we have no students in the summer, the net difference is noticeable, but not a lot when the dust settles.

In hindsight, I've profitted a lot- I have 'adopted' daughters all around the world, and I wouldn't trade that for mere money.






Nor a bigscreen TV.

International students, ep3: Enter Asuka

"A Geman, huh?"

Asuka's (yes, another codename) 'docket' arrived shortly after the conversation with the school board. Her picture looked a bit on a punk side. Just a little. Cool.

I had a pal in highschool who was a German exchange student, and he was a neat bloke. We made a bit of fun with his accent now and then, ("We watched wiolent wideos in wancouver.") and he got his revenge by stealing my girlfriend. Well, not really.. he actually asked permission rather formally, since he knew she and I had some kinda something going on, but that's a whole other story.

Anyway, Asuka. Before she arrived, we has to let Rei know there'd be another girl in the house. We told her over dinner. Her response? Emo silence for a while, followed by "I think just 3 is better." (Me, my wife, and Rei)

I figured she'd adjust to the idea, and that she just wanted to be the only student in the house beacuse she wanted to be special. Little did I know- she probably just didn't want someone in the house that she went to school with... that could pose a threat to Rei's cunning plan.

Asuka arrived, looking notably less punk-ish than her picture, but with all the spunk and energy you might expect. In many ways Asuka was Rei's opposite. Outgoing, open, chatty. (A contrast that coincidentally mimics the namesakes of thier codenames.) Rei was also mortified that Asuka's english obliterated her own. The Germans study english a good degree more seriously than they do in Japan.

Japanese highschools seem to study english almost as a novelty. The Germans study it to communicate with their neighbors. Asuka, much like my buddy from highschool, was almost entirely fluent, with only the occasional unknown word, which was easily explained without the use the little notepad that Rei and I had been using a lot.

It occurred to me briefly that we now had descendants of the WW2 axis living here. History is odd. If you could have sent a picture of our dinner table with everyone joking and talking back to 1950, what would people think? In 2050, will my daughter be hosting students from Iraq?


Asuka's level of energy brought a bit of much-needed volume to the house. Remember I said in the last post that I was trying hard to be quiet and un-rude for Rei's sake? That went out the window, and I realized that I might have been giving Rei the impression that I didn't like her much. (Which is kinda silly, given how much unrequired time I spent with her on homework and such.)

Asuka didn't need much help with homework, but we had lost to talk about.. like chocolate. We would have an hour long chat at the drop of a hat about chocolate, and related items. How this kind was good, that kind was not, and the stuff at the corner store was mostly shameful shadows of true chocolate.

Then a week later, something would set one of us off, and we'd have nearly the same conversation again, with just as much enthusiasm.



In 3 short months, this spunky girl had become part of the family.



Next post: Exit Asuka, Enter Ping.



Book update: Lifehack revision 33% done. Evenings don't get much done, I have to try t make better use of the mornings. Lil Caitlin's an angel in the mornings.