Dumpling Feast
My younger son would be content on a diet of steamed dumplings and hot and sour soup. Ping knows this about him so she left the office early yesterday so she could prepare a dumpling feast for him for dinner last night. Cici tried the hot and sour soup. Delicious, she said, so she had a bowl of it an hour before my son arrived. My son tasted it. I approve, he said, this is really good. He is a hot and sour soup connoisseur. I tried the soup and agreed. Really good soup.
On to the dumplings. My son can easily eat a couple of dozen steamed dumplings. Ping adds whole kernels of corn to his dumplings because she has learned he likes them that way. Neither he nor I had ever been served dumplings with the corn before Ping prepared them for us. Now they are a favorite. Ping followed the soup and dumplings with slices of red, juicy watermelon, capping of a very satisfying meal.
I learned a new slang word from my son after dinner. LatAm. What is that, I asked when he used it in a sentence. Latin America, he said. He is rallying the members of his LatAm summer team who received full time offers of employment. It will be more fun if they all return, he said. They suffered through a baptism of fire so they have a pretty strong bond. In terms of sheer working hours and pressure, though, my son said that high school was a more difficult experience for him than his summer experience as an investment banking intern. He wanted that number one spot in his class and he got it, but he paid a price for it.
We don't know Cici's class rank yet, but we know that only eight students in her class distinguished themselves by being on the top honor roll all year. We know that one of those students has moved to the senior class because she was taking summer courses each year so she can graduate a year early. We know that one of those students has moved away and is no longer attending her school. What we don't know is exactly where Cici fits in this group of six. Did one or more of the six just barely exceed the required 3.75 g.p.a. to make the top honor roll, or did all of them have very high g.p.a.'s like Cici's 4.31? Inquiring minds want to know.
Call me or email me if you need help with Spanish, my son told Cici. He isn't just fluent in the language; he has mastered it in ways that put native Spanish speakers to shame. He knows the nuances of the grammar, the tricky verb conjugations, and the vocabulary. You can learn all the vocabulary you want, he told Cici, but you will never be able to speak and understand Spanish unless you learn the grammar. Focus on learning the grammar. Once you have it down, everything else will fall into place for you.
I heard Ping use an interesting expression when my son was leaving. He thanked her for preparing the soup and dumplings. You are so welcome, she responded as she hugged him good bye. I see that she has continued to learn Western ways of speaking, and not just the rote way of saying you are welcome.
On to the dumplings. My son can easily eat a couple of dozen steamed dumplings. Ping adds whole kernels of corn to his dumplings because she has learned he likes them that way. Neither he nor I had ever been served dumplings with the corn before Ping prepared them for us. Now they are a favorite. Ping followed the soup and dumplings with slices of red, juicy watermelon, capping of a very satisfying meal.
I learned a new slang word from my son after dinner. LatAm. What is that, I asked when he used it in a sentence. Latin America, he said. He is rallying the members of his LatAm summer team who received full time offers of employment. It will be more fun if they all return, he said. They suffered through a baptism of fire so they have a pretty strong bond. In terms of sheer working hours and pressure, though, my son said that high school was a more difficult experience for him than his summer experience as an investment banking intern. He wanted that number one spot in his class and he got it, but he paid a price for it.
We don't know Cici's class rank yet, but we know that only eight students in her class distinguished themselves by being on the top honor roll all year. We know that one of those students has moved to the senior class because she was taking summer courses each year so she can graduate a year early. We know that one of those students has moved away and is no longer attending her school. What we don't know is exactly where Cici fits in this group of six. Did one or more of the six just barely exceed the required 3.75 g.p.a. to make the top honor roll, or did all of them have very high g.p.a.'s like Cici's 4.31? Inquiring minds want to know.
Call me or email me if you need help with Spanish, my son told Cici. He isn't just fluent in the language; he has mastered it in ways that put native Spanish speakers to shame. He knows the nuances of the grammar, the tricky verb conjugations, and the vocabulary. You can learn all the vocabulary you want, he told Cici, but you will never be able to speak and understand Spanish unless you learn the grammar. Focus on learning the grammar. Once you have it down, everything else will fall into place for you.
I heard Ping use an interesting expression when my son was leaving. He thanked her for preparing the soup and dumplings. You are so welcome, she responded as she hugged him good bye. I see that she has continued to learn Western ways of speaking, and not just the rote way of saying you are welcome.
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