This morning our community guard called to tell us we were invited to a lunch time birthday party in our courtyard. Allen went down to talk with the guard and find out whose birthday it was and who had invited us. It was a couple with a daughter around Kirstie's age. We had first met the wife a couple years ago when we had gone down to take pictures of our community's ghost month worship session. Several months later she and her husband befriended us at a community Lantern festival event.
At 11:30 we went down to the courtyard where the wife was busily setting up food trays. She told us that their daughter was having several friends from her school over and since they are all about Kirstie's age they wanted to invite us to come and give her a chance to play. It was such a thoughtful gesture, especially since we rarely meet up with them here.
We knew it was going to be a bit intimidating but by the end of the party we were feeling pretty comfortable. The mothers were very nice to include me in their conversations. It was a very nice feeling to sit with the ladies snacking on the leftover party food and chatting as if I were one of them.
Kirstie was very shy at first but loosened up when they all went to the ball pit to play. It is a little embarrassing, sad, and humorous to see her use facial expressions in place of words. She gives a perfect frown/"I don't want anything to do with you" look which can easily be replaced by a beautiful smile depending on what she wants to communicate. Later at home I heard her reenacting different scenarios in Chinese.
Katelin had a good time and was fairly oblivious to strangers, languages, and older children running around her.
We are always very touched by kindnesses offered to us foreigners. We have received many out of the goodness of peoples' hearts both in America and in Taiwan.
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