more since being back
So I was talking about the family dinner.
As usual, we were running late. Mint likes to nap almost up until the point where we’re supposed to be there, the flurry about like trapped bear while getting ready, and then usually we’re hailing a cab sometime AFTER we’re already supposed to be wherever we’re going. We went to this nice Chinese/Thai place where Mint had her 21st, and the family were already sitting. They’d ordered a few dishes already: including the sister ordering shark fin soup, because I was paying. Mum reckons this kinda passive-agressive behaviour may indicate jealousy of the comparitively-better lifestyle Mint leads - the sister lives on a farm and wants to marry a farm boy, much to her mother’s angst. The younger sister is still to shy to actually speak to me, but I’m still getting a lot of glances.
The food was delicious. My favourite was a rice dish, with pineapple, bacon and prawns, baked in a pineapple shell with a coconut crust. So tropical! Also, there were really good prawns with a pineapple sauce, and the duck and crackers (which were like “flying saucers” you get at most chinese restaurant, except slightly more biscuity, and more duck flavoured).
We good-byed the family in the taxi and then caught one ourself home. Despite an afternoon nap, I slept well.
The next day was Thursday I think. The family came over, and Far cooked. She is an excellent cook, although Mint secretly finds her food “too Chinese” which means “not spicy”. Far cooking was also billed as a “thankyou” for dinner the previous night, which was nice. I probably paid for the ingredients, but it’s still a nice gesture. After food there were discussions about the future of Mint and I, and her mother’s needs that I would be expected to meet. The younger sister, Fern, was sitting on the mother’s lap throughout this, until Mint picked her up and thrust her onto my lap. She didn’t move. In fact, that was the tipping point that decided I was ok. She was more or less “attached” to me for the rest of their time here. It was an interesting friendship because I didn’t speak chinese, and she didn’t speak a LOT of Thai (and neither do I of course), so I would show her a picture of something on the computer (animals went down well) she would say the name of the animal in Chinese, and I would repeat it, not really knowing if it was correct or not.
Anyway, we ate dinner, Far showered and they were off. Suddenly. They obviously had a bus to catch at a certain time, but because I didn’t know what time that was, it seemed suddenly they just got up and left. Mint’s mother loved the gold, and one of them was too small, so she’ll probably sell that, but that’s cool - that’s the way it works - gold is more or less the same as cash here anyway.
Since then, life has been back to normal in many respects. We’ve been to the movies, a couple of times I think, and had some average experiences. Nothing as good as Hitman in Australia. Man that was a good movie.