Last week, one of the teachers asked us if we wanted to go to a party. Of course we did. At first, we weren't sure if it was a birthday party or whatnot. We finally figured out it was a bunch of friends hanging out together with their children. When we got picked up, the teacher said we would be going to a park first. (Not too excited about that. The air quality was at hazardous levels.) We drove to the park and ended up riding in separate cars with different families. Ryan rode in the car with the little girls and they were very excited to ask him lots of questions and tell him their names. I rode in the car with the boys. They barely knew I was there.
We got to the park and saw these swings. These swings were giant and 2 people could ride on each one and lay down. I thought it was pretty cool until I saw one swing that had fallen apart with giant nails sticking out. Good thing our swing didn't break. Next we walked over to an area with rope bridge things crossing some water. I tried a couple but again there were giant nails sticking out of some places in the bridges. Safety first is not on anyone's mind here except mine. There was also a young man at the park that liked to make things difficult for his friend by jumping on the bridges. If his friend was on the same bridge as me, it was really scary. Then over to the next part. I like to compare this part to the rope courses at the white water center where there are harnesses and helmets that you must wear. Ryan seems to think I am exaggerating. They aren't as high as the ones at the white water center but they were just as challenging and dangerous. We also heard that in the summer when it rains there is water underneath. I saw a man take a pretty bad tumble (the one with the naughty friend) and told Ryan to be careful. Next thing I know, Ryan falls. I know he's ok when he looks up with a giant smile on his face. He ripped his jeans (his only pair of jeans). We have pretty much given up shopping and have no plans on starting anytime soon so I patched the jeans up on Sunday. I was all worried about him after that and tried to keep him from trying anymore.... Safety first is my motto but not followed by anyone else around here.
Next we were off to the friend's house. I rode with the girls this time. I introduced them to a Chinese character game on my iPad. They enjoyed the game and beat Ryan's high score at the time. (Ryan has since practice to reclaim his name on top). At the friends house, Ryan played with the children and I helped make dumplings. I did much better this time. (Last time I made dumplings, they didn't look so pretty.) As I was making the dumplings, I thought: it would be great to make Italian style dumplings with ground beef and marinara sauce and cheese fondue. I was really thinking I had the best idea ever. (One of my favorite things to do is to make up new recipes). About 5 minutes later, I had a new thought... I just invented ravioli AGAIN. Oops. Oh back to the dumplings. These folks were a bit more picky about how their dumplings looked so they would fix my misshaped attempts. They kept showing my until I got it right. Now I am a pro... sorta. These folks have decades of more experience.
There were over a dozen people in the apartment and it is smaller than my college apartment. I am always amazed how someone can cook so much in such a small kitchen. 8 or so people sat around the kitchen table and the children ate in the living room. I guess the kids' table is universal. The vegetable dumplings were the best ones I ever had.
Ryan and I were asked to do a presentation for American week. Many ideas came up during the brainstorming phase: game show, food eating contest, and sing a song. Someone (me) came up with the idea to do a dance... the dance evolution. Someone (Ryan) agreed to this. If I knew he would have agreed, I don't know if I would have shared my idea. Ryan and I are not dancers. We took dance lessons for our first dance at our wedding. We have found a YouTube video and are trying to teach ourselves. This should be interesting. I hope the kids like it.
Well, that's all folks for today. I hope everyone has a good week.
Julie
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