Because I need to start writing these down!
*Yesterday we were walking back to the orphanage towards evening, and we passed the place where Emerson often sees rabbits out near the road; apparently they get braver as it gets cooler or something. Emerson pointed out the adorable little fluffy bunnies, as he always does, and Hibiscus took a moment to see it, but then got very excited.
"Is -- is RABBIT. Is bunny rabbit," she said, working to find the words in her vocabulary. Then she went on gleefully, "Is for Hibiscus. Rabbit is for Hibiscus. Is for EEEAT-TING!!!"
So much for adorable bunnies!
* We met her on the road coming home from school one day, and Emerson started explaining, with his usual verbosity, about his own school. He can't wait until they both go to his school together. I have gotten the impression that school is a luxury here and she is very proud of being a schoolgirl, so I have revised my original home-coming plan. I was going to keep her home with me for at least a few weeks, to give her a chance to settle in, and Emerson some time in his own space, but from both of their feelings I think they will both go straight into school. So Hibiscus was listening to this discussion, and from the words she understood, she formed an impression that surprised me. "Hibiscus no go school!" she exclaimed. But then she continued with her real motive -- "Hibiscus go America!"
We have since managed to persuade her that there is also school in America, and shown her pictures, and she now is convinced. In fact, she tells Miss B that she doesn't want to go to M--- Christian School here any more, because she is going to school in America. As amusing as this all is (and she tends to say things with the air of exaggeration, knowing she is being amusing), I think it shows a genuine fear, that we might be leaving for America at any moment, and if she happens to be busy at school then she might get left behind.
* Speaking of things she says to Miss B, she has a great deal to report about her current and future situation. She found a photo we had sent months ago with our house in it, and she gleefully pointed to the rooms where she would sleep, and where Buttercup would sleep, and also her friend Hosta, and maybe another friend.... It was amusing how quickly she was moving everyone in, but what was even more amusing was that the picture of the house was taken from the back, and all that showed was an attached shed, the garage, and one window of the kitchen. Just imagine, bringing back a whole host of African children, and then stowing them in the garage!!
After seeing a variety of pictures, which included various family members, she became much more relieved and excited about joining our family. (If that's possible, which I'm not sure it is. I think her primary focus is finding a mother who will actually mother her.) She told Miss B "I'm getting a family with grannies and aunties and everything!" (The Luganda word "jiajia," pronounced jya-jya, means grandmother or grandfather or in fact any relative the age of a grandparent.) She always is particularly excited to see these photos of relatives. I think maybe she thinks we're really a real family, if we can produce extended relatives!
She especially likes pictures of my mother, although she has a hard time telling whether the picture is of Mama or of Jiajia, and of Emerson's great-grandmother. She wanted to look at those pictures for a long time. Again, I think our family increased in value to have someone of a truly honorable age involved!
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