The aged old saying, “Is a tomato a fruit or a vegetable?” Well today in my taxi, a tomato was a fruit. Jessie and I got into our taxi ride home from the orthodontist to hear the sucking and slurping sounds of our driver eating a whole tomato, as if it were a juicy summertime peach. Jessie was a little grossed out by the sounds. I guess one was not enough because as soon as he finished, out came another tomato and the driver biting into it with slurps. I think the Chinese see a tomato as a “fruit”; another proof, you can buy dried grape tomatoes along side raisins and berries in the markets. And they do taste sweet, like candy.

The aged old saying, “Is a tomato a fruit or a vegetable?” Well today in my taxi, a tomato was a fruit. Jessie and I got into our taxi ride home from the orthodontist to hear the sucking and slurping sounds of our driver eating a whole tomato, as if it were a juicy summertime peach. Jessie was a little grossed out by the sounds. I guess one was not enough because as soon as he finished, out came another tomato and the driver biting into it with slurps. I think the Chinese see a tomato as a “fruit”; another proof, you can buy dried grape tomatoes along side raisins and berries in the markets. And they do taste sweet, like candy.

In our city, we rarely get rain. The land has been experiencing a drought for a few years. When we do get a rainy day, it is so refreshing! However, Megan says it’s not as fun as in Texas where she gets to splash in mud puddles. Here the puddles are too contaminated, I won’t mention with what. Maddie and Megan heading to the bus stop on Thursday, our first rainy day in months.

We were invited to attend the wedding ceremony of our friends’ daughter. The bride and groom met in Canada while studying there. They returned to China to celebrate their marriage before their families. Here we are pictured with our friends. Also pictured, the bride presenting flowers to her proud grandmother, and Maddie “eyeing” the whole lobster that was served as one of the many main course dishes.

Sean had to work late and met us after dinner at Mc Donald’s for ice cream. Then Sean, Megan and I headed across the street for him to get a hair cut. Megan entertains the Chinese hair stylists by making funny faces at herself in the mirror.

Each year our school hosts a Dad’s day for fathers to come and join their students in class and for a free lunch. Another nice feature is they take a photo for each dad with his kids. I guess next year it will be daddy and all his girls in the photo

Sean planned a trip away for us to Guilin to celebrate our 20th anniversary. It was nice to get away together, alone. Guilin is located in one of the most scenic places in China, with beautiful karst mountains, the Li River and two ancient pagodas. The cold and rainy weather put a little damper on our time, but we still were able to take a bamboo raft ride down the peaceful river. No troll motors on the boat, just our guide using a cane pole to propel us.

During our recent trip to Guilin, China to celebrate our 20th Wedding Anniversary, Sean was persuaded by the street vendor to buy us matching watches. And what better brand to get in China than Rolex!! Guess how much they cost?

For Megan’s birthday today I took a cake to school to share with her
class. Just as we were getting ready to light the candles, suddenly our
friend, Zhu Laoshi appeared with a stuffed animal to give to Megan for her
birthday. He had secretly e-mailed Megan’s teacher and found out the time
we would be having cake. Zhu is a Sean’s Chinese language teacher. He
has also spent time with the big kids tutoring them in their language
goals. Zhu has always adored Megan. We are so thankful for special friends.

Megan’s preschool class lead the weekly chapel time in her school this
week. Their lesson was on sharing, and the students enacted short skits
on sharing and being greedy. Then they lead the other students in a song.
I enjoyed spending time in her school and conversing with other moms of
her classmates.