Very Chill Weekend

Man, I've got to do something about these inconsistent titles. Still, I'm getting tired of the previously used format, so nyeh.

Spent the weekend with the Liangs for once. I feel like even though I live with them, I spend a lot less time chilling with them. We basically eat breakfast together and don't see each other again until 9-10PM. Then, I watch "Let's Talk In English" with May, sometimes help Jenny with her English/math homework, shower, and sleep. Repeat. haha. So, this weekend I resolved to spend some quality time with them (if they wanted me).

Last Saturday, I went to work with Pastor Chao because the Liangs went to Taipei for a wedding. This Saturday, I assumed I would go again, but Dr. Liu was like, "Are you crazy? Aren't you tired of the hospital yet?" haha. Pastor Chao said it was up to me, that we probably wouldn't do anything anyways. So, yeah, slept in until 10 AM. BOO-yeah.

At around 10:30 AM, Dr. Liu sweeps up the stairs, scoops the girls out of bed, ushers them downstairs, positions them in front of the piano, hands them each a violin, and they commence practice. We were going to "he xi jiu" (go to a wedding reception) that night and they were accompanying the church choir. Apparently, they had not practiced yet at all. haha. My type of people. We ended up skipping breakfast and heading to brunch at a local restaurant. I was warned to bring a book because the service was slow. The restaurant's excuse? Ambience. It's the type of restaurant you go to for a leisurely cup of coffee and a light meal which you partake of while staring soulfully out the window wondering when the world went to shit. Anyways, I had a "light" meal because I wasn't super hungry. I could NOT for the life of me read the menu, but I surmised that there was potato and bread in my entree. I actually remembered to bring my camera this time. Yee!

This is the latte. Look how much milk and foam there is. It came with a blue curly straw. Very confusing. I actually didn't see it at first and almost stuck it up my nose when I went in for the first sip.
OK. Fifteen minutes later, this came. I take one look and I'm like, "Where's the potato?" Then, I cut it open, and get this, it's french bread with potato salad on it, covered with cheese and baked. GENIUS. It was DELICIOUS. And I ate the salad, apple, and corn/raisins the entree came with so I could tell myself I ate a healthy brunch instead of just a mountain of carbs.

After lunch, we went back to the house and vegged until nighttime. It was AWESOME. At night, we went to the wedding reception. And yeah...I forgot my camera. In my defense, I was in semi-formal attire and there was really no place to put it. Well, any place you'd want to know about. In Taiwanese custom, there are two wedding receptions. One for the friends of the groom and one for the friends of the bride. Each are held in their respective hometowns. The Liangs went to the first one in Taipei because they were invited to the wedding and got to go again because they are friends of the bride. I was the plus one. haha. Wooh. There were like 10 plates of goodness. Lots of soups. Abalone, eel,fish, all the standard wedding reception fare. I wasn't terribly impressed. We were seated in the corner near the front of the stage so we couldn't see anything. Not the corny slide show, not the parents making a speech, NOTHING. D: AND, the same song kept on repeating over and over again. I counted eight times before I gave up. The most exciting part of the night was when Jenny got too excited spooning soup in her plate and burned herself. It was epic. They had to stick her hand in an ice bucket. She has second degree burns on her hand and everything. The power of Chinese soup cooked in a Chinese vat. Whooowee. It looks really wicked and she's super proud of it. She spent today running around showing it to everybody. You can clearly see the soup's trail as it traveled down her hand. hahahaha. The second most exciting part of the night was when they passed out free souvenir playing cards...with the bride and groom's face on it. I don't know about you, but I'm not comfortable with the idea of people playing with my face. I mean...picture Me would be forced to watch as people play depraved games like Strip Poker or Strip Heart Attack or Strip for the sake of Stripping. (shudder) Still, super fun. I can't wait until I get to attend the wedding/reception of someone I actually know.

Went to church today with the Liangs and helped occupy the younger children while Dr. Liu led Sunday Service. I was supposed to help play piano but I kinda roped Pastor Chao into doing it. Teehee. I discovered that I am a slither-outerer. Probably not news to most of you. hehe. Had wontons for dinner. They were suprisingly good. The "xian" (stuff inside) was shrimp and I could actually see/taste shrimp. It wasn't mashed up into suspicious pink goo. For dessert, we had Da Tu Dou, which is a nearby ice and sweet tofu place. Prof. Liang had actually bought it yesterday and put it in the fridge. We learned that old "yu yuan" (taro balls) are pretty nasty. Instead of being Q (chewy), they're kinda hard. haha. May was so dismayed. haha.

I spent the day teaching May how to semi-improv on the piano and helping her with math. Omg, math in Chinese is SO hard. She's like "You know, gong chi? li xing?" And I'm like "Whaddahuh??" We finally discovered some middle ground. We communicated by writing "mL" and "cm". No speaking necessary. haha. I taught her scientific measurement analysis (I'm not sure what 's actually called. The thingy where you get to cross stuff out) and I got the blankest stare EVER. haha. "Never mind. Just know that 1 m^3= 1000L."

When May started practicing piano, I decided to take a nap. I had just laid down when the ground starts to shake. I'm like "Ok. I did NOT throw myself down that hard." Second earthquake in three days. My room is on the third floor so I got to sway peacefully with the earth's crust for a good 5 seconds.

Oh, tonight, I had dinner with Grandpa for the first time. I met Grandpa Liu at the wedding reception. He's A-Mis (the aboriginal tribe here in Hualien) and for the life of me, I cannot understand most of what he says. A lot of nodding and smiling on my part. Prof. Liang isn't aboriginal either, but he's had a lot of practice. Sometimes he translates for me, other times, he sends me the signal to smile and nod. The Liangs go to eat dinner with Grandpa every night because Grandma passed away last year, leaving Grandpa all alone in the old house. It's really cute. The whole family gathers, including Dr. Liu's older brother The Surgeon and his family. Today, he didn't show up. And there were whispers of "Marason" which I learned yesterday is A-Mis for "drunk". The aboriginals are often disparaged for their affinity for drink. It's really sad. But yeah, didn't see The Surgeon today. I've heard he looks like Dr. Liu with short hair and darker skin. mehehehehe. Super good food at Grandpa's too. The live-in senior helper, Yuni, is a great cook. The vegetables actually had flavor. whee! There was also sashimi and a bunch of different kinds of fish. Apparently, it's some sort of Fish Harvest Festival today, an aboriginal celebration. That explains why The Surgeon is out getting Marason. haha. After dinner, Grandpa tells me to go eat a banana because he grows them himself in his backyard. Not wanting to disappoint, I comply. Then, he comes out and tells me that the ones on the table are store-bought, NOT home-grown. He then hands me another banana, TWO times the size of the one before, and says, "Here, eat this." I now have dinner + banana already in my stomach...but I couldn't disappoint Grandpa. Still, I usually don't like bananas, but his were delicious. They had a slight hint of a pineapple taste. Very sweet. I definitely fulfilled my quota for potassium today.

I have resolved to learn how to play the violin during my time here. Boo-yeah.