Never Been Kissed....

....in China. Today in my art class there was a little preview boy named Niuniu. (Preview meaning this was his first class ever at Romp n' Roll.) He was really into the art project that we were doing and was a pretty independent little guy. After class I gave him a Rompy stamp and his mom was encouraging him to blow me a kiss. He hesitated. Now, when most kids hesitate it's because they're deciding if they really want to interact with me, so I'm used to this. What I was not expecting was the big fat kiss that he gave me, right on the lips! Children in China just don't do this the first time they meet a foreigner. I was so shocked that I probably made a face very similar to this:

His mom and dad started laughing so I laughed and Niuniu laughed at how sly he was. It was pretty cute and I couldn't help but smile. Add this to the hug I got yesterday from one of our kiddos and multiply it by the hug I got today from another little boy and I'd say the result is that Chinese children are starting to love me. It's an incredibly rewarding feeling because these babes don't just hand out affection to foreigners like it's candy - I have to work for it. It's awesome to feel like I'm really starting to bond with our kids and I look forward to more big hugs......and maybe kisses?