So a few days ago, I was feeling blue and like we had a major communication issue in the house.
Every time I left (to go check the mail, get something in the garage, run an errand, etc.), Sofie exhibited behavior of extreme sadness, abandonment, and loss. She was crying all the time. We weren't sleeping. We were all crazy.
At the end of my rope, I resorted to Google Translate to try to bridge the gap. I came to this realization at 4:30 in the morning one of the nights Sofie wouldn't sleep. It sounded really logical to me to get the application to talk to her. I knew that the "translator" was hit or miss. When you compare the English to Norwegian translation, it is so/so, but something is better than nothing so I gave it a go. It didn't matter that she didn't speak Mandarin (but some other dialect with another name...). I was sure that this would help.
Before using the application, I thought about a few topics to cover. I wanted to:
Explain that we thought she was doing a great job trying to learn English.
Explain that I was sorry we didn't speak Chinese but that things would get better.
Reassure her that I was going out, I was running errands & promised to come back.
Explain that we were her forever family - that I would be her mommy for the rest of her life (whether she likes it or not when she becomes a tween), that I would always come back, and that we both loved her very much.
I added in a request that she not to cry unless she was really hurt because we were worried about her. I explained that her new name was Sofie. I am sure I am forgetting some of the messages we shared. I would translate a thought, say it in English, and then let Google Translate say it in Chinese about 2-5 times. Sometimes Sofie repeated the words in Chinese. Sometimes she smiled. She gave me a hug afterwards.
Her behavior did change immediately. I still can't go to the bathroom with the door locked (wailing like cats that want to come in too), but I went to an appointment later that day and she kissed me goodbye & didn't cry. It was amazing. For the most part, when I leave the house, she is much more comfortable these days. I think she must have understood at least some of the concepts I wanted to convey to her.
She is calling herself Sofie in pictures when we ask her who is in them. She also still cries with temper tantrums when something happens that she doesn't expect, but it was an amazing intervention.
Thank you Google Translate.
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