CI Day, Part 9 – Arcade Fun:The food court area had a group of kiddie ride things that the younger boys had their eyes on - what do you call them? The little vehicles that you stick a quarter into (unless you are in quarter-less Honduras) and they shake you up a bit. If you don't know what I'm talking about, take a look at the photos.
While Axel and Carlos were thus occupied, I ducked into a nearby arcade, hoping to find some entertainment for my older boys. I was trying to work fast so they wouldn't get bored, but, of course, the workers and I were having trouble communicating, so I couldn't figure out how to pay for the games. They finally beat it into my skull that I would have to purchase a card to insert into each machine, then load the card with money. I figured the second part out after the pass card I'd purchased failed to make the games turn on!
Once my card was loaded and operational, I summoned Jon inside (Wilson was occupied elsewhere, I think), and we got started playing a violent game of air hockey together. That's when Jonathan really started to loosen up and act less self-conscious. He was overcome by that good-natured male competitive spirit that inspired him to laugh and punch the air whenever he scored a point against me. How does one say "In your face, loser!" in espanol?
After Jon kicked my behind at air hockey, I set him up to play with Connor (who he also beat by one point), and I got Wilson going on a racing car video game. By this time, the whole gang had arrived on the scene, so I was running back and forth shoving the card into game slot after game slot. The boys all had a great time playing against each other, and it was really fun for us adults to watch. I think I reloaded the card at least twice before it was time to move on.
Victors Thoughts: Probably because I never encountered one of them when I was small enough to want to ride it, I’ve always considered those vibrating rides to be the height of cheesiness. However, when the boys wanted to ride them, I wasn’t about to say ‘no’. At least the mall was empty and it’s not like I was going to bump into anyone I knew while I was clowning around with the boys. Of course, now Mack will probably show some of the pics to anyone who wants to read this blog. J
When we got inside the arcade, I relaxed as the games were a lot ‘cooler’ and I just let the boys have fun; picking out whatever games they wanted to play. I used the time to take pictures and chat a bit more with one of the translators. This was the sort of thing I’d hoped to be able to do for the boys – let them have as much fun as they could. What I learned for the next trip is to make sure and plan for more of that sort of thing.
No comments:
Post a Comment