When the church parish sponsored a new immigrant family about once a year, Nancy Delaney often came to the rescue. She would have the family stay a few weeks while they adjusted to their new country and culture.
This year, it was a family from China. Actually, it was a mother and son from China. The son was twelve years old. The mother was a qualified doctor.
Nancy welcomed them into her home. They spoke halting English. And what could be more welcoming, more culturally sensitive, than to get “Chinese” for the first evening meal? Nancy purchased several different dishes, with lots of rice.
The visiting mother and son did their best to eat it. They could merely nibble and try not to look disgusted.
Over the next few weeks, the doctor taught Nancy how to cook proper Chinese, and Nancy taught her how to cook European. What a revelation for both! What a great friendship forged! The learning process is never one way.
To listen to the story being read click HERE!
How very true!
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Thank you! And I might add – that one of my favourite lines in theatre is Ionesco (in translation): “That’s true too!” There’s so many ways it can be said!
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I like the adjective “true” much better than the noun “Truth.” It reminds me of a swinging plumb line to nature, rather than a rigid mental abstract.
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Ain’t that the truth! Thinking about it (you always make me think) most “virtues” seem to cope better as adjectives: chastity/chaste, prudence/prudent, honesty/honest…
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Now I’m wondering if this puts me in the camp of Plato or of Aristotle….probably neither, ideally….or really… 🙂
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Down with the hemlock. Go for Socrates!
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Exactly so Bruce and what a lovely story! When I retired as a ‘teacher’ and looked back I realised I had learnt far more than I ever could have imparted!!
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Thanks – as the song says in the musical “The King and I”: “If you become a teacher, by your pupils you’ll be taught!”
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I only remember ‘Shall We Dance’ sigh …
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Dang it! Now I’ll be singing the music from The King and I all day…..”Shall we Dance,”…”Something Wonderful,” “Getting to Know You,” “Whistle a Happy Tune,”(and I can’t whistle worth a tinker’s dam…..)
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Getting to know you – I wish you hadn’t done that Cynthia – getting to know all about you, getting to like y………….
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You started it…or maybe it was Bruce. Yes, let’s blame Bruce!
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Too many accusations and I’ll start singing something from “The Sound of Music”.
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…sayeth The Lonely Goatherd.
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Oh yes, definitely Bruce’s fault!!
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I’ve noticed… suddenly you’re bright and breezy…
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…. with all th…….
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There’s lots of lovely tunes in The King and I!
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Sigh…
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When Fede from Argentina first came I served chimichurri (NZ style) later he told me very gently that it was quite awful but he would teach me how to make it – and he did – but I forever more cringe at the memory! c
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!! My life is full of such moments!
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Must mean we are fully living in our lives – Boots, Feet in Mouths and all. c
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Such is life…. down on the farm…
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A Chinese colleague demystified green tea for me. She did it in a very simple way with leaves (stopping the kettle before it boils, otherwise the leaves burn and the tea tastes bad, pouring the water in two steps to get the best of the leaves), and I like green tea since then.
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I suspect all tea might be better poured like that. I knew an English lady who would never let the kettle boil!
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I have a lot to learn in the tea department 🙂
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It is an art I’ve yet to acquire!
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Positively Aesopian!
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Aesop in the end was thrown off a cliff for insulting the gods. I had better watch my back!
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A good exchange here, in the story and the comments. Now I’ll just float off on a bright cloud of music…
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That’s very fluffy of you, Lisa.
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😉
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Getting to know you, getting to…
Ack! No one died!
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There were very few left to die after Chairman Mao.
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I once had a Pakistani nanny and he couldn’t stand American food (especially peanut butter) – so he taught me how to make curry. Course he was upset that goat meat was not available and he had to make due with chicken! Sometimes food is the path to understanding.
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I did a course in Indian cooking – which I frequently use, but of course not a beef recipe in sight!
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A wonderful woman to help a new family adjust to culture shock in their new country.
It’s so true, food in China is nothing like what we buy in North America. 😀 😀
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I guess it’s like buying the All-American hotdog or pizza – you can get bad ones!
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Such a sweet story and a great reading. Your voice reminds me of Alfred Hitchcock’s. 🙂
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Thanks! I should perhaps write something scary!
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You should!
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When I met Jackie again after 40 years apart I told her i was an ace curry cook – and look where that got me!
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Sounds like an excellent plan to get out of the kitchen!
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Sussed
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… never one way, so true. Blogging is a cool to connect with people. 🙂
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I know the situation, trying to impress the Chinese with bastard food we all thought was Chinese. Nice wrap up.
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It’s like thinking pizzas are Italian!
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