Thursday, October 13, 2011

Kid's Perspective on Being Pregnant

Yesterday I had a hilarious conversation with the second graders.  Before I tell you though, here's some background info.  Our school gives each elementary classroom a teaching assistant (TA).  The TA's are all Chinese.  Since my co-teacher, Karen, is out, I have two TA's this week.  Karen's TA is going on maternity leave in a few weeks because her baby is due the end of October.
Student 1: Miss Keller, do you have a baby?
Me: No, you have to be married to have a baby and I don't have a husband.
Student 1: Mrs. J (Karen's TA) has a husband.
Me: Your right.  She does.  Which is why she's having a baby soon.  Did you know Mrs. W (my TA) has a baby?
At this point every single kid starts staring at her stomach and looking for evidence.
Mrs. W.: My baby has already been born.
At this point there was a very audible, "Oh."
Student 2: Miss Keller, Mrs. J looks like she swallowed a basketball.  She's got a huge tummy.
I couldn't breath from laughing so hard.

More random facts about having babies in China...
- Most Chinese babies are born by C-section because doctors convince paranoid mothers that it is safer. 
- Most Chinese are only allowed to have one baby, but if you and your husband are both only children, you can have two.  You can also pay to have a second baby.
- Chinese believe that a baby and the mother should not leave the home for the first 90 days of the babies life.
- Most Chinese women wear overalls their entire pregnancy.
- A Chinese woman will not use a copier when pregnant because "the radiation might hurt that baby."
- Chinese women eat themselves silly while pregnant because they think they need to gain a lot of weight.
- Most foreigners go to Beijing to have their babies because there is a hospital there that is fairly Western.  Chinese hospitals are really different from Western hospitals.

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