Monkey Brains

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Wednesday, December 30, 2009 8:57:44 PM

It's not really raw, they pour some hot water on it.

That was first said to me about an item on a menu (I did not purchase it) and then about how the Chinese eat monkey brain. It sounds like they prefer it fresh enough that it is still trying to send signals as they swallow it. Gross.

I have a few questions.

What are the parts of a marinade? Acid... that's all I can remember. Sugar? Oil? Salt? How long do you marinade something?

How do you make Thai soup? How do you make that Thai peanut sauce?

Can you send me some maple extract? They don't have it here, I think.

What do antioxidents do for you?

What does "wherefore go to" mean? As in Enos 1:8. I'm very familier with that phrase, and it's the kind of thing I should be able to interpret for someone, but I realized that I cannot.

A university teacher on the MTR said to me as he walked away, "Nice to meet you. Your Mandarin looks fine with me." Well thank you very much! It made me want to take a class from him.

The other day I was standing in our bedroom when I noticed what the words on our curtains actually said. There are four inspiring messages printed over and over, and they are as follows:

Here is gentle nature.

Nature is the friend of everyone.

You're always in top form!

I like it very much now.

Biting it is pleasant

These have a nice feel

haven't they?

This taste has warmed up

our mind as well as our body

Just thought I'd share those wonderful bits of Hong Kong with you.

Despite my lack of faith, I was able to get my companion to start getting out of bed on time and go running each morning. It has been very good. I feel tired, but I already felt tired, and now it's a more healthy kind of tired. Like, I'm tired, but I'm stronger. If I can keep this up, I should be able to ride my bike EVERYWHERE when I get home.

We have one investigator, Annie, who really wants to be baptized. She is one that Elder So has been teaching for a long time. We have set baptismal dates with her a few times, but she still has trouble coming to church on Sunday. But she should get baptized soon, we hope.

Speaking of her name being Annie, most people here go by an English name that they have chosen. It's weird, but actually kind of nice. Sometimes it's a little weird, like Ocean or Rainbow, but still easier to remember than a Chinese name.

The youngest child of the family I talked about last week, the one with the Buddhist monk dad, is the only boy in the family. I didn't realize how much he needed friends. We offered to play badminten with him, and he later asked his mom, "If I get baptized, will I have lots of GeGe [older brother, or just older male friend] to play badminten with all the time?” I hope he can find more friends at church. Not that I wouldn't just go play badminten with him all the time, but someday I will go home, so I can't be his only friend.

Talking to you all on the phone made me want to be better. Mom asked how often we spoke to each other in Mandarin, and I had to say, "Almost never." Now I try to use it as often as I can. I also try to be more diligent and focused all the time. Talking to my family was apparently supposed to ruin my work for a while, but it actually just made it better. Thank you for helping me like that. I love you all very much. Mother's Day will be here sooner than it has any right to be. I am already looking forward to another motivational boost.

love you,

-Noah

ps, the church finally supported my beleif that google is true by switching their email service to google. My new email is noah.kershisnik@myldsmail.net

pps, thanks to the Corrys for the cereal and cookbook. It looks great!