Sometimes he knows he's being mischievous, like when he locked us out of the hotel room and bolted the door, or when he dumped his orange juice into his noodles. He’s never met a light switch that he didn’t want to test (rigorous testing, with 10 minimum on-off cycles.) Many other times, he's just being curious, and with his low vision, he explores with his hands. He asks us all the time in Chinese "what is this?" but even if we knew the Mandarin word for the object in question, he would still want to feel it out. Many times he hasn't encountered the object before, so to tell him "it's a gigantic porcelain vase" wouldn't mean that much, even in his native tongue.
There are different levels of hands on: We've quickly become ok with his hands touching the legs of a unknown woman walking through the hotel. Most food on our table is likely to be handled, and the strangers next to us should be on alert. When he gets the phone or camera, it's typically a 100 picture minimum or dead battery, whichever comes first.
In the supermarket, he almost never intends to knock stuff down or off the shelf; he's just being curious, not malicious. But those wine displays and glass bottles of spaghetti sauce still merit increased vigilance. When we visited the gift shops that are the size of an airplane bathroom, I get a bit more stressed out. I believe a broken elephant there was the only breakage incident we've had, either because we've effectively prevented others, or he's mastered the art of touch-but-don't-break and I should just relax.
We navigated the huge department store and finally made it to the toy store, which felt like an oasis for the handsy. (Ironic, I know, because it increases the "please buy me this!" begging.). A trip to the multi level mall is a questionable move because of the potential for sensory overload, but we have logged some serious hours in the playroom and pool (which have both been big blessings), and need a change of scenery to manage the cabin fever. When we get reprimanded by hotel staff and mall cops for touching the water fountain or riding the escalator repeatedly (typically in a calm, by-the-book manner), I have a sense that more scrutiny from mall cops is in our future. And Charlie just turns to me and says something in Chinese that I'm pretty sure was "who was that guy?" But might also be slang for "whatchu talkin bout Willis?"
There are other times when he's just being goofy, and sometimes unintentionally so. Putting “Mama’s coffee” and a plate of peanuts in the freezer, and hiding the TV remote in the bathroom cabinet are just clean old-fashioned fun.
Right now it's very hot and humid in Guangzhou, so it's quite common for men of all ages (and shapes) to roll their shirt up with the midriff exposed to beat the heat. I'm not sure if Charlie is just being Chinese, or if he instantly learned that Sam cackles with delight when any male does the shirt roll.
Similarly, when Charlie is en route to the bathroom, often with urgency, he drops his pants before fully entering the bathroom, which also is incredibly entertaining to Sam (though probably not to Mall Cop.).
He continues to progress with English, and often identifies a word he likes from our conversation or the TV. Some guy on TV mentions "batteries" and Charlie screams like he just won the lottery, repeating "Battery! Battery!" He has learned my first name, so now I routinely hear him screaming "Stephen! Stephen!" at the pool, in the restaurants, or just in general when he needs Baba. He's learning our last name, though I'm pretty sure he thinks it is Seatbelt, and he's not a big fan of those. He still loves to call roll, shouting "Mama! Mama! Sam? Kate? Stephen!" One of our blind friends jokes that some blind folks ask a lot of questions because they're afraid people will walk away if the conversation stalls. So combine that with some natural uncertainty of family that he is facing, and we've got a micro-manager son checking to ensure we haven't left our post.
He learns his environment pretty quickly, and remembers specific doorways in our massive hotel complex where he banged into the glass door. Kate told our friends very matter-of-factly "he does pretty well for someone who is blind years old." It's always risky to walk around with our nose buried in our iPhone, but especially when you have Charlie's vision. We try to hold his hand or remove distractions, but I guess sometimes bruised shins are a necessary teacher when he won’t put down the iPad. He typically stops to apologize "sore-ry Kate. Sore-ry Baba" with a heartfelt hug when he trips over us. To complement his polite apologies, his behavior is steadily improving in other areas as well, with much more patience at meal time, more sharing of toys, and fewer battles at bedtime.
This morning we tried to eat breakfast in our hotel room with grits, but he wasn't interested, so he and I dashed through the buffet before our US Consulate appointment. And I thought "oh no - does he expect a breakfast buffet with 48 choices every day? Does he think we live in a hotel back home? Will he be crushed to not have an electronic keycard, since it never leaves his side?” (He even swims with it in his pocket.) We talked some tonight about our house in America, and he seemed to grasp that it's not a hotel room. I think he’s most excited about our pet fish named Blue, which is ironic since I forget that Blue exists for weeks at a time and he lives in the room where I eat every day.
In about 36 hours, we board the plane to start the long journey back home. Life will be very different on the other side, most of all for Charlie. I know the transition will bring its challenges, including jetlag and work-from-home conference calls with a kid who doesn't yet understand "I'm sorry - it's not a good time to barge into Dad's office with toy planes and Bop It on full blast." The new environment with so much upheaval can be unsettling for the adopted child, but I look forward to some regular rhythms of home life vs hotel life. And it may be time to find the ole yellow hat to join us for the road ahead with our sweet, curious, adventurous new addition.
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