True or false?

I am home alone with Bea this evening.

While i was washing the dishes she was getting a bit frustrated and i thought i would test theory 101 about having a 2 1/2 year old.

So i said "whatever you do, don't put your teddy in that bucket or he will get wet."

What did she do? She put it in the bucket! Theory proven. I love it.

But it got me thinking about all the new things I have had to teach her here in Laos. All the "don't do this" and "do this". And then i thought, if i told her any one of the following statements she wouldn't believe me. She would tell me that i am being a "trickster." Her answer to any of the following would be false. False, false, false .

- In some parts of the world everyone has to wear seat belts
(FYI Bea has a car seat but she is a minority)

- In some parts of the world kids are not allowed to ride on motorbikes
 (don't worry Bea is also not allowed to ride on a motorbike)

- In New Zealand you can drink water straight out of the tap

- There are people in Melbourne wearing coats and jumpers and hats right now!

- In some places you can do all your food shopping in one location (ie. a supermarket)

- Some countries have bus stops where people wait for their bus and if they aren't at the bus stop the bus won't let them on!

- In some countries you don't get taught in 3 languages at preschool

- In some cities there is more than one playground to visit

That, my friends, is a toddler adapting! Stage one is here, stage two is returning and trying to reverse some Lao realities. I can totally see her telling her friends in Auckland that they can't drink the water out of the tap as it isn't drinking water!

Melinda