Stuff about Strider

When Strider saw my last post about Colsen, he asked, "When was the last time you wrote about me?!"  After I thought about it a few minutes, I concluded it was about time to shift the spotlight back to the firstborn.  (As a fellow firstborn, I know how important that spotlight can be!)  So here is an update on what Strider is up to.

Our time in Chisinau has been stretching for Strider.  He has realized he's not real fond of living in an urban environment;  seeing old women pick through our garbage for food and watching drunk men passing out on the street have not produced warm and fuzzy feelings in him.  But he's been making the best of the days and weeks here, keeping busy with a few activities and schoolwork.

One of his favorite things to do is spend time at the international school down the road.  We can't afford to send him there full-time, but he's been able to do some after-school clubs and sports, the main one being tennis.  He loves running around, and also getting to talk to kids from all over the world.

He's also started taking classical guitar lessons with a Moldovan teacher who comes to our home.  I love the way the music sounds!

Protesting my picture-taking during the guitar lesson

Meanwhile, in addition to his regular schoolwork, he's been pursuing some other interests, including introductory-level computer programming with Scratch, and creating newsletters which he sends to family and friends.  So far he's created four editions of his newsletter.  (If anyone not on the mailing list would like to be, just let us know!)  The highlights of his days are hearing from people at home.

He's also been stocking up on "fascinating facts" (such as: Did you know Mel Blanc, who played Bugs Bunny, was actually allergic to carrots and had to keep chomping them and spitting them out in a bucket?) and riddles (such as: "In a deck of cards, what does the king of hearts have which no other card does?"*)

And on his horizon now is a big trip to celebrate his 12th birthday in a few weeks:  he and Pete are heading to Istanbul!  So we should have plenty more spotlight on Strider in coming weeks.... Stay tuned!



* Leave a comment below or call/email Strider if you know the answer to the riddle.  We'll post the answer in a couple days.  :)  )