Bariatrics, Part 10: Restriction!!

Wooohooo!!! The fill has kicked in, and I have restriction again. It usually takes a day or two from what I understand. I think that's because the saline has to work its way back through the tubing into the band, but I may be wrong. I just know that I felt no different on Thursday (except where she jabbed me on her first attempt), but I woke up on Friday with a very tight band. I have also lost at least part of the water weight. Might another scale drop be on the way?

Right now, my poor stomach is pretty upset from the insult of having the band around it tightened. Think of how your waist feels wearing a too-tight belt, and now imagine that it's your stomach and not your waist being squeezed. So ... I'm living on liquids -- tea, soup, milk, and the like. I know, however, that I'm not too tight for solid foods because I can get my meds down without a problem. Anything larger hurts, though. I took Madeline to International Night at a local elementary school last night, and of course, they had food from everywhere. It was at the dinner hour, and I was hungry, so I ate a dumpling from the Korean display. Ouch! Back to the Gatorade for me!

Madeline's dance class was part of the entertainment at the International Night. One of the girls in her class attends kindergarten at this school, which apparently has a huge international contingent, as do many of the schools in this area. The girls did their recital dances. Most of the entertainers, however, were adults -- there were two or three groups of Korean dancers, Indian and African dancers, Irish step-dancers, and an adult member of Madeline's dance company.

There were also children dancing from the Howard County Chinese School, which, for those not familiar with the concept, is sort of like Hebrew School for Chinese-American kids. Generally, these schools are run by Chinese immigrants for the Chinese community. They offer Mandarin, plus other classes such as Tai Chi, cooking and traditional Chinese dance. One of my colleagues runs such a school in Northern Virginia.

Madeline does take a class in Mandarin and Chinese culture, but not from a Chinese school. Her teacher is Mrs. Haas, a Chinese-American woman who immigrated as a child in 1949 (when Mao came into power). Although she is now 70 years of age, she still teaches 4th grade at a local private school. She's the sweetest woman you'd ever want to know and seems far younger than her 70 years. Most of the students are adoptees, and Mrs. Haas has said that she has a special place in her heart for these girls.

We considered regular Chinese school, but were hesitant to commit for a few reasons, including the fact that parents aren't allowed to sit in on the classes -- at least at the schools we explored. Although we are under no illusion that we can learn a lot of Mandarin, much less get the tones right, we did want to see what and how the children were being taught. Moreover, regular Chinese school is rigorous, a several-hours-a-week commitment. We felt that Madeline was already in school each day from 8:10 to 3:10 and already had homework (yes, in kindergarten, though it's hardly egregious), and it was unfair of us to saddle her with more school on the weekends, unless that's what she really wanted. (And, some day, if she does, we will certainly allow her to enroll.) Yes, we are wusses. Early exposure to a foreign language is an proven aid in fluency. Hopefully, she's getting enough exposure with Mrs. Haas each week.