On Wednesdays Rose does not have classes so we went out to the mall (Sta Lucia) as I had promised her we would buy a Zagu (a kind of slushy drink my kids love) as I did not shop at my usual supermarket (Cherry's) this week where I always buy Josh and Naomi a Zagu and one for Rose - which I keep in the freezer till she gets home from school. I was sure they would have a stall at Sta Lucia - which actually we did not find. And I did not want to venture into the old side as I had Naomi in the pushchair (the only way to control her when we got out, and she hates it) and there are mainly stairs that side, and not many escalators.
Anway, we had lots of fun because we ventured up to the very top floor - which is the cinemas and a fun-fair section. There was a bouncy castle inflatable with an obstacle course and slide which I have not seen there before (I don't go up there much) and it was 50 pesos for 20 minutes play so all three went on and enjoyed that. We also bought candy floss (12 pesos, imagine what it would be at a British fairground?) to share. Naomi was not sure about putting the blue stuff in her mouth, which was amusing. After doing bits of shopping I succumbed to McDonalds - that's the frustrating thing about malls opening late here (10 a.m.) - it's lunch time while we're out. We eat lunch about 11:30 at home. And the kids get cranky if I go much past that.
Rose chose to sit where everyone walks past which I explained was not a good choice as we get stared at. Sure enough, we were in the middle of eating and chatting when this older lady came in and started talking to Rose, telling her she liked her and how smart she was (not sure how she could tell that after looking at her) and stroking her hair. Then she started on Josh - I thought she was going to rub all his hair off. Bless them, the kids just carried on as if nothing was happening, although Rose stopped looking at her. Neither of them would talk to her as they didn't know her but it didn't deter her. She told me where she was from and that her kids were grown and it was good to see children with their mum. Eventually she left and we were all relieved.
After that we went to Starbucks (I had a free voucher burning a hole in my pocket) and I asked Rose to push the pram while Naomi and Josh walked beside me as we crossed the road to get back to the car. I deliberately did not cross till there was a genuine space but as we got almost to the other side of the very wide road a motorcyclist nearly hit Josh because in true Filipino fashion he made no attempt to stop (or even slow down) for people on a zebra crossing, but carried on motoring even though we were on the crossing before he had even come onto our road. This despite the fact there were 3 children on the crossing. Can you tell I was narked?
But such is the culture we live in.
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