Texting Cousins

One of the coolest things since meeting Jerry and creating a life together is his enthusiasm for my family. Just recently I got him his own kiddie messaging app and he’s been texting my nephew Declan (the son of my younger brother) who lives in Australia and the same age.

Every afternoon he races home from school to check the cellphone for messages from Declan and they send each other emoticons, gifs and videos of themselves. I haven’t been interfering too much (mainly for spelling and cultural stuff Jerry doesn’t understand). But I have cacked myself a few times at the videos they’ve made for each other. Showing off their bedrooms, pulling crazy faces and asking what they do that is naughty and the associated punishment.

So last week I thought it would be funny to video Jerry buying his favourite after-school-snack — BBQ’d chicken heads and then eating them. Jerry wasn’t very keen at first claiming that Declan would think he was weird rather than the cool that I promised. We’re still not really sure what he thought, but Jerry already knew the meaning of the word ‘gross’ when it came in the reply message and worried Declan wouldn’t like him anymore.

As the chicken heads on stick were cooking, everyone in the roadside stall was super interested about the video and asked loads of questions about the people who would watch it in Australia. Jerry bought a few different BBQ sticks and all up his afternoon snack cost about AUD 80c.

I had loads of international pen pals when I was a kid and I guess this is the 2018 version of that. Kids from across the world connecting with each other, engaging and learning cultural differences. How wonderful.