This past week, Micah's social worker told me that I needed to start making him 粥 to eat.
"粥? What's 粥?" I innocently asked.
She and the other nurses were astounded.
"What?! You don't know how to make 粥?!" they asked incredulously. "If you want to be a good parent, maybe you need to read some books about babies," they seriously suggested.
Apparently, making 粥 is a basic parenting skill that I was lacking.
Foster parenting in Taiwan has been a cross-cultural learning experience. For example, the social worker requires Micah to sleep in our loft with us, because it's unthinkable to have him sleep in a separate room (even if it's just downstairs in our one-room apartment). The nurses make sure he's bundled up in a sweater and socks as soon as the temperature drops below 70 degrees F, even if his hair is wet with sweat. Also, we are required to bathe Micah after he poops to make sure he's clean. (In America, babies usually sleep in their own rooms, wear less layers, and are cleaned with wet wipes after a dirty diaper.) It's humbling to learn that our American way is not necessarily "normal" in most of the world.
Thankfully, my dear friend Michelle taught me how to make 粥 this weekend. (粥 is congee, a type of gruel made by slow cooking rice with a lot of water. In China and Taiwan, it's often fed to infants with pumpkin and/or small white fish). It turned out alright.
Hopefully I'm on my way to becoming a better foster parent!
