Chinese Speech

About two months ago, Matthew was given an assignment in Chinese school. He had to write a speech about his journey in learning to speak Chinese. Easier said than done. The assignment sat on the kitchen table for about two weeks before he even drafted the speech. I had to help him translate some of the words and then convert the speech into pinyin and write out the traditional Chinese characters. He handed the speech in and the teacher modified it a bit and sent it back.

Today was presentation day. All the upperclass had to present their speeches to a panel of judges. OK, he wasn't expecting judges. He thought he just had to read it out loud and then take a bow. He was a good sport. He did recite his speech, though not from memory. All the kids did well today. The speeches are something to help them get comfortable with public speaking in Chinese. Hopefully this will give him more confidence and he'll do it more often.

iPad Happiness

Daily inquiries about whether I've received an email from Apple notifying me of the iPad shipment. Nope. Sometimes you can hear the frustration in his voice when I tell him no. Then suddenly, an email appeared and came a tracking number. After a month of anticipation, Matthew was chomping at the bit to get his iPad. Happy days. The tracking number indicated that it was on the truck to be delivered in Stamford. Finally, the FedEx truck was in the driveway and the package was finally here.

The FedEx driver needed a signature. I signed for it and then told the FedEx guy that I was going to shout out that the package was lost. He asked me not to do that since he knew that would entail a very unhappy person and would probably get him hurt. Just kidding I said. I closed the door and told Matthew that it was a false alarm. The package was for me. A pair of shoes. I know. I just needed to torture him one last time.

He got a hold of the package and was giddy with joy. He opened up the package carefully and finally freed the iPad2 from it's packaging. He promptly set it up and hasn't been without it since then.

Thanks to all who made that moment possible for him. It is a birthday gift that he will cherish for a very long time and will never forget this birthday....ever.