Important - Please Read (5 Viewers)

[glitterfairy]

ROFL!

No, Lynn is not offended at all as she has friends that do not like this "congee" at all. It is, however, one of Lynn's favourite foods, but she cannot tolerate plain rice porridge. It HAS to have nice meat in it (like mince meatballs, for example, or...SPAM! hahaha!) or Lynn will refuse to eat it. Lynn understands the "slop" expression, as plain rice porridge is something only her dogs will eat willingly.

Lynn feels that Marcus must have eaten very plainly in China as often, a little Soy Sauce or Marmite is added.

 

[goldendawn]

Marcus and his friends ate at the school canteen in China everyday. As much as they appreciated the efforts of the canteen ladies, they had to admit that alot of what they ate was quite gross. Marcus remembers one time having been served this stringy watery-lilly bulb. The stringy parts looked like tendrils of saliva. An incredibly smelly stream also ran through the school grounds and someone made a joke that the water-lilly bulb was "home grown". Marcus didn't eat that evening.

Marcus was glad the day he came home, because his mum had made a wonderful "Spanokopita" - cheese and spinach pie.

EDIT: It is not tabooed to spit in China, and you would often hear throaty spits whilst sitting and eating in the canteen.

 

[glitterfairy]

Lynn admits that much chinese food looks disgusting, hence the reason why she sticks to the plain, identifyable foods such as plain rice porridge. Lynn could NEVER eat at a chinese canteen, she fears. Lynn vastly prefers European food, although too much french food makes her sick... "cream and cheese and bread, cream and cheese and bread, that's all it is..."

EDIT: Lynn is appaulled by chinese table manners and is proud to say she never spits at her own meals. *raises eyebrow*

 

[goldendawn]

Marcus happens to prefer European food also. Marcus wonders if Lynn also likes Malasyian food?

Marcus empathises with Lynn about French food. Its not something Marcus could eat daily.

 

[goldendawn]

EDIT: Lynn is appaulled by chinese table manners and is proud to say she never spits at her own meals. *raises eyebrow*

Chinese people have their own set of manners, and much of what we do at dinner would be plainly unaccepatble to them also. Marcus did experience a fair amount of
culture shock.

 

[glitterfairy]

Lynn likes some Malaysian food - such as coconut rice with boiled chicken, but other than that, is not really attracted to any of the more exotic fare.

Lynn has often felt as if she was born into the wrong culture. Happily, being born as an Australian, she is able to sample other cultures and their cuisines without straying too far from her house

EDIT: Lynn remembers that after coming back from a week in New Caledonia, she was DYING for some normal food.

 

[glitterfairy]

Chinese people have their own set of manners, and much of what we do at dinner would be plainly unaccepatble to them also. Marcus did experience a fair amount of
culture shock.

Lynn agrees. Whilst in Rome, she could not believe that people who accidentally bumped into her did not say "sorry", as they do here in Australia. Nor could she believe that "thieving gypsies" were so rampant, until their passports were stolen on a train

 

[goldendawn]

Coconut rice and boiled chicken is very appetising to Marcus. . But Marcus wonders why Lynn feels as if she has been born into the wrong culture.

(Australia is a true 'melting pot' - to use a term which is getting a bit old. It has such cultural diversity; and this truly makes it a place where people can sample the best of a unified world)

 

[goldendawn]

Marcus thinks that Rome is a funny place. Marcus sister Dimitra is permanently annoyed with Italian men after her trip to Rome. They kept trying to pick her up - and the Romans on the street are known to be more than slightly arrogant, so Marcus isn't suprised that they weren't forthcoming with apologies.

Marcus is quite a fan of Gypsy music. He has been trying to learn Gypsy songs on the Gadulka, and has just taught himself the "double harmonic scale" used by Gypsies, or the "Rom", which is their name for themselves. It is basically the Ionian mode (C-major) but with augmented seconds (aka, the second note from the top of the scale, and the second note from the bottom of the scale, are flats). Marcus wonders if Lynn has seen "The Red Violin".

 

[glitterfairy]

Coconut rice and boiled chicken is very appetising to Marcus. . But Marcus wonders why Lynn feels as if she has been born into the wrong culture.

Lynn has no particularly strong feelings for her Chinese (Malaysian really) heritage, and feels no ties towards it at all. She is not particularly asian in everything but appearance. Lynn tries her best to avoid being closed-minded, as many asians are, Lynn has a very weak academic side even though she comes from a highly academic background (father has Masters in Mathematics, both parents were Dux), and to put it bluntly, Lynn is not very proud of her heritage. Lynn's EE2 teacher suggested that she read ... argh, Lynn has forgotten name of book but is is about 3 asian girls who were not proud of asian heritage.

Lynn has strong feeling that all this comes from a strand on her mother's side of the family, which are all somewhat Westernised. Some of Lynn's cousins and herself are part of a new generation able to take "westernised culture" a step further - for example this "strand" is fairly artistic. Lynn is a dancer, one of her other cousins is a budding interior designer/artist, another is a guitar player/Latin dancer etc. Artist cousin is moving to Australia soon to study, other cousin was/is bred in New Zealand as a kiwi... right down to the accent! lol.

Lynn wonders whether this explains anything, although if it helps, Lynn is still quite confused herself.

 

[glitterfairy]

Marcus thinks that Rome is a funny place. Marcus sister Dimitra is permanently annoyed with Italian men after her trip to Rome. They kept trying to pick her up - and the Romans on the street are known to be more than slightly arrogant, so Marcus isn't suprised that they weren't forthcoming with apologies.

Marcus is quite a fan of Gypsy music. He has been trying to learn Gypsy songs on the Gadulka, and has just taught himself the "double harmonic scale" used by Gypsies, or the "Rom", which is their name for themselves. It is basically the Ionian mode (C-major) but with augmented seconds (aka, the second note from the top of the scale, and the second note from the bottom of the scale, are flats). Marcus wonders if Lynn has seen "The Red Violin".

Lynn is also quite a fan of gypsy music. She hasn't seen "The Red Violin" but when her dad was in Chili he videotaped a musical performance. Lynn was in another room at the time, but heard the music, and began to spontaneously dance. The music was very uplifting, and seems to "call" for celebration!

 

[goldendawn]

Marcus does understand where Lynn is coming from, and agrees that now, she is first and foremost an Australian. Marcus does, however, urge Lynn to learn more about her own background; it may help Lynn to resolve or at least understand why she feels a stigma about the culture of her parents.

 

[glitterfairy]

Lynn imagines that she will, one day.

But for now, she has a strong idea that there is much that is either best left forgotten, or saved for a better time when she is older and better equipped to deal with whatever is dealt to her ears.

EDIT: Ah! Lynn has just finished another wonderful short story. Lynn is muchly enjoying these short stories, odd, as Lynn normally doesn't like short stories because they don't tend to go long enough for Lynn to reall sink her teeth into them. Lynn thinks that these are particularly good ones, or perhaps especially interesting because they concern birds. Lynn loves animals. Lynn will be back in just a little while as her tummy is being particularly difficult. Lynn will go for a walk and a drink of cool water

EDIT: Lynn is back, and is sad that Marcus had to leave suddenly but Lynn is sure he had his reasons. For anyone else that may be watching (or reading!), Lynn highly recommends anything by Mercedes Lackey.

 

[glitterfairy]

EDIT: Lynn notices that Thomas is online and greets him warmly.

 

[Llyrai]

Alan greets Lynn and Thomas (if he is there) and says that MERCEDES LACKEY is cool as!

I only managed to find the Owl- series and a few single novels (brightly buring etc), and have been searching for her older books to find out more about the history!

 

[glitterfairy]

Lynn greets Alan excitedly!

 

[glitterfairy]

Lynn has only JUST finished the book and the novella by Mercedes Lackey and is now quite set on hunting down any and all of her other books as they sound very interesting, and well-written without the tendancy to overwrite like so many people (Including Lynn, on occasion) do.

YAY! Lynn is so happy she has found another good author with a good-sized stash of books. Sadly, it also means that the next book Lynn reads had better be good, otherwise she will throw it out of the window in disgust.

EDIT: What's this? Lynn just picked up the closest of her new library books, and lo and behold - it is "created" by Mercedes Lachey (ie two of the short stories/chapters written by her). If anyone is interested, it is called "Lammas Night" and after reading the introduction it is a collection of short stories written by friends with a song written by Mercedes Lachey as inspiration. Crisis averted.

 

[Llyrai]

Lynn has no particularly strong feelings for her Chinese (Malaysian really) heritage, and feels no ties towards it at all. She is not particularly asian in everything but appearance.

Alan says that he is pretty much the same. He cant even speak vietnamese properly, and further, he doesnt look completely asian either.
Alan understands that it is somewhat a privilage to be born from a different culture to the one he indulges in, however, in all truth, he identifys himself as Australian, rather than Asian.

 

[glitterfairy]

Lynn fully agrees. "The grass is always greener on the other side..."

Lynn would like to add, with a laugh, that she even has difficulty pronouncing her own last name properly, and it is only a four-letter-word!

 

[Llyrai]

Lynn would like to add, with a laugh, that she even has difficulty pronouncing her own last name properly, and it is only a four-letter-word!

AHhahahah!

Alan just has real difficulty talking properly to elders. He can understand most of the language, (putting aside middle-vietnam dialect), but as for speaking it, he cant well.

Alan also doesnt know much of the culture either. He knows of food and tiny bits and peices of tradition, but really has no idea about the larger portion of Vietnamese culture.

Thought: Alan is hungry.