survival instinct

as a child i was quite sensitive and self-conscious about speaking vietanemese. probably b/c there was a number of times when my mom or relatives would laugh at my attempts to put together a sentence or pronounce something. my mom would always try to explain that no one was laughing at me. however, being a child, i could not comprehend it.

as an adult, listening to my niece and nephew speak vietnamese (or any child speak a foreign language), i often find myself moved to laugh from the sheer joy it brings me. i guess my sister feels the same way. . .

this came up while talking to my sister on the phone this morning. she told me how my nephew was driving her crazy the other day b/c he peed on the sofa (note: he is turning 3 in october and is still potty training). sis lost it and was screaming up a storm. she cleaned my nephew up and sent him to his room.

she stopped by his room later to see him sprawled on the bed, reciting hail mary in broken vietnamese. i guess my nephew is much smarter than i was at that age, he knows how to use his cuteness to his advantage!! in any case, it worked b/c my sister had to do everything to keep from laughing and couldn't stay mad at the rug rat.

could you?