We’re having our first real experience of gift-exchange where we can sort of see how it affects the relationship. We brought 老趙 and his wife (the couple that runs the fish soup place down the road) some stuff from Canada when we returned from our summer stint in Vancouver (Purdy’s chocolate, a calendar with pictures of B.C., some dulce). The next time we visited, he had a pile of homemade shrimp 餃子 (dumpings) for us, and on the next occasion, some Japanese desert things for us to take home. A month or so later we’d given out our other gifts to everyone else and still had some left over, so we brought them some beef jerky. Taiwan has its own style of jerky, but it’s different from North America. Since then the last couple times we’ve stopped in to chat they’ve all but forced us to sit down and eat something. We’re trying to refuse several times like we’re supposed to. Tonight on the way home from work makes the third time in a row. I wonder what we’re getting ourselves into, but it sure is fun. It tastes good, too.
Udpate
The reason we haven’t posted much about what we’re doing lately – and might not for a while yet – is because we’re not really doing anything. Eating, sleeping, working, and homework consumes all day every day. The only sunshine we expose ourselves to is on the two-minute walk to work.
That’s no way to live, and I think I’m about to revolt. It could be a lot worse – we’re not really complaining – but we’re just big fans of direct human interaction.
Anyway, the forcast calls for a bunch of “Chinese culture posts” rather than “fun stuff we’re doing posts,” but it should only be like this for a time. We’re loving the reading, it’s just the not-doing-anything-else part that’s starting to wear on us.
Vote for Pedro Chou-chou!
We entered Chou-chou in KittenWar! – where people upload pictures of their kittens into a “cuteness war.” It pits kitten against kitten by displaying a pair of photos, and random web surfers click who they think is the cuter of the two. I can’t believe I’m writing this after all that “we’re so busy” stuff. Anyway, as of this post Chou-chou is 7-4-4.
Canada:
China:
Taiwan:
The States:
Ecuador:
Brazil:
Haiti:
UK:
I curse you and your kitten wars!!! I just wasted an hour trying to have a battle between Chou-Chou and another cat just so that I could vote for Chou-Chou!!! Stupid hundreds of other cats… I swear, I saw the same cat on there, like, 6 times… a couple of them in black and white. =)
Anyway… I’m going to go do something more useful with my time than vote on kitties, however fascinating that is. I’m going to go watch TV. *laughs*
Love you guys!
How come I got edited for saying v*te??
Ha. I didn’t get edited for saying vote. Maybe it thinks you have a potty mouth. Actually, the “Polite-ifier” was just being a little over-zealous… I fixed it.
Yeah, I should have said something about the billions of other kittens on there… and they make it so you can’t just pick your kitten and vote a hundred times.
Still, she’s at 10-5-4 this morning!
Hey Joel…I know we’re learning Chinese and all that, but what on earth is an “Udpate”????
Also, what are homemade shrimp “dumpings”?? Doesn’t sound terribly appetizing… *grins*
We love you anyway, Joel… =)
dumpings are kind of like Udpates.