On a recent family trip to Europe with the in-laws, my kids were doted-on with lots of food, (yes, that includes cookies, chocolates, potato chips, ice cream, and all the other junk food one can imagine). Despite my protests, as I was trying hard to maintain certain boundaries, I was out-voted each time.  In fact, my 7 year old declared that, while on vacation, they should be allowed to “live a little.”

However, the best part was how my 4 year old kept on testing his grandmother’s Chinese. Grandma happens to have been a Chinese Literature major in college. While strolling the streets of Barcelona with a plethora of street performers and vendors, whenever he saw something familiar, he would ask, “Nai Nai, do you know what is chicken in Chinese?” “Do you know what is fish in Chinese?” etc etc. His easy command of Mandarin Chinese was certainly a change, which can be attributed to his attendance of Chinese school over the past 2 months.  Ok, maybe I’m getting a little ahead of myself, he’s not quite speaking fluently in Chinese, but I’m overjoyed to hear him initiate the use of the language. It really is music to my ears!