Jean's First Day in the USA

Yesterday was amazing! Jean (he prounounces it "gee-ahn", kind of like Gianna without the last syllable) is an amazing kid and we are absolutely enchanted.

As soon as he saw us yesterday he came running to us with a big smile and even bigger hugs! I had tears in my eyes. Then he immediately opened up his backpack and started handing us gifts. I did not expect that! Drawings, an illustrated letter, and rosary bracelets for all four of us. Mine has blue beads and Tom and the boys got wooden ones. Then it was time for pictures, a little paperwork, and him saying goodbye to his chaperone and the other Kidsave kids. He wasn't anxious at all, but excited to go to our house!

Zachary missed out on the airport greeting because he is still at Webelos camp. But he made a video to welcome Jean and to tell him he couldn't wait to meet him on Saturday when he gets back from camp.

Jean did great on the car ride home. We were told that a lot of the kids aren't used to riding in the car, and that we should bring supplies in case he got ill, but thankfully he had no trouble at all. It was a LONG commute home from Dulles Airport, over two hours because of rush hour Beltway traffic. But he enjoyed looking at all the gifts we brought him, had a snack, and then we used a whiteboard to play something like Pictionary. We took turns drawing something, then writing the name of the item in Spanish and English. He also took a nap for about an hour and was refreshed when we got home.

It was magical to see him explore the house! It was like watching a little kid on Christmas morning, wide-eyed with wonder at all his presents, except for Jean it was his excitement about all the fun things he found in our house. He flitted from one thing to another with Nathan - piano, Pokemon cards, ping-pong, magic tricks, and catching fireflies. He found the telescope and wanted to look at the stars but it was getting late and we told him perhaps tomorrow.

It is SO nice to have Nathan here to play with him - that allowed me to get dinner on the table. Jean was excited at the menu: pollo asado (grilled chicken drumsticks), rice, beans, plaintains, sliced tomatoes and melon. He had very good table manners and kept saying how delicious everything was and thanking me.

In general he is very polite and well-mannered. It is obvious that his foster parents have taught him well. The first thing he did before entering our house was to wipe his feet on the welcome mat, then he took off his shoes at the door and put them in the basket with the other shoes. When playing with the toys in the basement he puts them away before getting out the next thing. He washed his glass after having some water, which led me to show him the dishwasher to explain to him that he doesn't need to wash his dishes himself.

He had a little difficulty falling asleep. I don't know if it was the fact that he napped in the car, or if all the excitement just made it hard to wind down. Perhaps a little of both. But eventually he fell asleep, looking forward to the next day's planned activities: bike riding and going to the pool!