Games

I'm trying to get Yu-Jin interested in board games. I remember having so much fun myself with this type of amusement when I was little. I've been yearning to play a competitive game of chess or Scrabble - certainly something that can't be done against an English-as-a-second-language speaker. So, I've been missing out for a while.

On Sunday night Yu-Jin wanted to play, and he chose the game. He grabbed the chess board. Last time we played he able to remember where most of the pieces lined up.

I go easy on him and put myself in a position where he can take some of my pieces. Don't want to dishearten the boy. He was white, or brown in this case, and towards the end of the game was in a hopeless position. I decided to clean up the board instead of going for the kill. Here is the result. A bloody stalemate! Couldn't believe that I was unable to beat a four year old who has a very limited grasp of the rules.

Last night we played dominoes. Miky won three games and Aunty Ju-Min came from nowhere to win the fourth. It is amazing how bad Ju-Min is at dominoes, mainly a game of chance with a little skill thrown in, but she has NEVER looked like winning since she arrived a couple of months ago.

Then Yu-Jin grabbed the snakes and ladders board. I got to the stage where I only needed a two to win but threw a one to go back near the start by sliding down a snake. This happened twice. And so I lost.

That means I haven't won a game in the last two nights. I am getting pathetic.

The Health Front

Hasn't been too good in this household recently. I've got a sore throat and Yu-Jin was sick all weekend and missed kindergarten on Monday and Tuesday. He didn't seem too bothered by that but didn't want to miss out on childcare yesterday. This morning he wanted to get up when I did, at five to six. He must be feeling much better.

Miky took her sister to the podiatrist yesterday and the poor guy had a hell of a time. Imagine asking, "Does this hurt?", while holding a foot, directing the question to the patient who doesn't speak English, having the other person translate, get an answer and Korean and then the translate version comes back. He found it so confusing. Wish I'd been there to see it.

Grandma is holding up well. She's quite a sick person and I'm sure that the government wouldn't allow her to stay because of health reasons. But her asthma has improved greatly since being in Perth. Must be a lot of pollution in Korea. Well, you can smell cabbages whenever you go into the back streets of any place you visit.