Annie, Claire and Eva have made friends with the Korean boy and girl living across the hallway. Wu Bin and Da Bin (she says some people call her 'Dustbin'!) . They are now good buddies and will find any opportunity to play.
When we first moved in to the condo, the kids opposite were always peeping at us from behind their door and sometimes even knocking on our door then running away! Interaction between the two factions started a couple of months ago. Initially they were enemies! It started when we noticed they were playing with Claire and Annie's scooter parked out in the hallway, and leaving them in odd places (stairwell, elevator lobby). There were a few times when we almost couldn't find them.
Then one night the 2 gangs spied each other and started throwing rubbish (paper) at each other from behind the safety of their respective doors! It wasn't a hate war, they were actually having fun and were screaming and laughing! It then elevated to the Korean kids spraying mosquito spray and Claire shooting her gun at them! I had to intervene then.
I think they were all eager to have new friends but did not know how to interact, or initiate a conversation. After the battle, they started leaving nasty (but harmless) notes at our door, saying things like, "you're stupid", etc... I did not approve of that, so I instructed the kids to leave it be.
After a while, the notes turned into small gifts, toys or stickers. Annie left them some stickers which she collected from Disneyland and some hotel toiletries! They then reciprocated with more gifts and nicer notes asking about our holiday.
Soon, they were meeting outside the corridor and playing their bikes and scooters together. Now the kids can't wait to get home to see if their new friends can come out to play.
Last night, they came over and helped sing Happy Birthday to Kakak Paula who turned 22. Then hubby and I had to go back to the shop to pick up something.
When we came back, the whole house was awash with talcum powder! They even managed to get some on the wall above their bedroom door! There were brushes, pieces of cloth, a mop and a broom on the floor. Evidently, they were trying to clean up all traces of their mischief before we came back. Poor Eva emerged with powder on her from head to toe!
Mummy and daddy had to tell them off for making a mess and making the floor dangerously slippery (water+talcum powder). Also for victimizing poor Eva! (though she didn't complain much actually) So everyone was sent to bed.
After putting them to sleep, I noticed a note under the door from Da Bin. It was addressed to Annie and she wanted to know if Annie could still play the next day and hoped that Annie would not get a scolding from me. I think her concern was a nice gesture and I'm happy the children have made good friends. It's really great to see them laughing and screaming like we used to when we were kids. I just have to monitor them once in a while to make sure they're not dismantling the house or traumatizing little Eva!
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