Two Proud Moments

Two days ago, I did two things I am very proud of.

Earlier that morning, my mother left to go have lunch with friends that she has known since MIDDLE SCHOOL. The two of us met up with the same group of friends last week; the women are so pleasant and very kind. Also, it's hilarious to watch my mother, being the (totally young, spry) lady that she is, have her arms wrapped around women of identical age (and height). Seeing the reunion between all four women was totally summer camp 2009. She went out again with the same group. Instead of joining them, I stayed home with my grandparents to read and study my Chinese textbook.

My mother asked me to go out into the world and get lunch for my grandparents. My grandfather told me what he wanted, which was noodles, and wrote it down on a piece of paper. I could show this piece of paper to the noodle people if they did not understand me. So I listened carefully to what he said, pocketed the piece of paper, grabbed the umbrella and ducked out into the rain. Today, it rained like crazy NONSTOP.

I walked the seven minutes to the noodle place that my grandparents adore. In flip-flops. Bad idea. Flip-flops = slip city. A lot of the sidewalks here are not made of pavement but tile, and wet tile plus flip-flops is definitely not the safest choice. I ended up walking about .00000001 miles per hour once I hit the tile sidewalks, carefully placing one squishy, flip-flopped foot in front of the other. The seven-minute walk ended up being about a fifteen-minute walk, but once I finally arrived, I walked right on in to place my order, head held high.

Unfortunately, the Man Who Makes the Pancakes recognized me from my previous visit with my mother. He remembered what I ordered last time, which, thanks to my grandparents' being quite simple, was the same as this time. He asked me in Chinese, "Beef noodle soup?"

Frustration town. I wanted to ask for it myself! Thankfully, he didn't guess the entire order. "Yes. Also," I added. "Noodle soup in beef broth without beef, and two green onion pancakes." Ha!

He nodded (success!) and called back to the kitchen, where two elfin ladies stuck their tiny heads out, heard his order and disappeared to make the magic happen. He turned back to me and motioned toward a chair. "Sit here," he said. "And wait."

After the noodle soups and green onion pancakes were made, I paid for them (240 yuan, about $8) and walked the cautious walk back to my grandparents' house. Lunch had been taken care of--all by myself! Proud Moment One had been accomplished.

Proud Moment Two came when I woke up from a nap on the couch and my grandfather motioned to me, calling my name: "Kimbleee." He asked me if I would go to the bank with him. Admittedly, it did take about ten minutes for me to understand that he wanted to go to the bank, but eventually the two of us strapped on our stilettos and hit the town. The bank is a simple walk, only about fifteen minutes away. I held the umbrella above us as he gripped my arm and we tottered down the sidewalk. However, my grandfather has such trouble walking that the two of us grabbed a taxi when an available one passed us.

When we arrived at the bank, I hopped out of the taxi and helped him out. Umbrella overhead, the two of us shuffled inside. My grandfather motioned for me to grab a number, saying something that was probably along the lines of, "Grab a number." I took #202 and the two of us sat together, waiting for our lucky number to be called.

I wasn't sure exactly what he wanted to do at the bank and why he wanted me to come along. Maybe he just wanted the company. Or maybe he really just needed someone to help him walk down the street. That was probably it. I decided to ask him anyway.

"Gong-Gong," I asked him. "What do you want to do here at the bank?"

He answered and motioned to the tellers, but I didn't understand. This is the hardest part of being here. I hate the idea of bringing any frustration to my grandparents, who already have so much to deal with and think about. This is the main reason why I began to eat meat again after being a vegetarian for 16 months. I don't want to cause them any inconvenience or any trouble. I'll just do whatever. And hopefully, help them in whatever way they wish.

I didn't understand what he said, so I tried to make it simpler. "I don't understand," I said. (Phrase One learned at the Kim School of Chinese.) "They?" I motioned to the bank tellers. "Are going to give you money?" (Classy phrasing.)

He nodded. "Yes." Okay, so this was just an everyday bank visit. No big thing. Cool. So I was here to keep him company, that was it. Well, no problem. Bring on the company. I'd be the best company ever.

I noticed that on the television nearby, an anchorwoman was speaking in front of a baseball play-by-play. I pointed. "Gong-Gong," I said. "Do a lot of people in Taiwan like baseball? Is it very popular here?"

He said, "Yes, a lot of people like it. Do you watch it?"

I answered, "Sometimes. My dad really likes baseball. But he doesn't like the New York Yankees!" The Yankees were featured in the news clip.

Small talk nation, I am your leader. Right? Hey, if I can talk about baseball, I can talk about anything. That's actually not true, at all. I probably couldn't talk about politics or the latest episode of Lost. I can't even talk about those things in English. However, I was absolutely proud to have accompanied my grandfather somewhere and helped him do something. And when we did find things that we could talk about--baseball, what number did they just call, should I sit here--he seemed grateful and happy.

After he'd run his errand, we made it home by taxi and trudged up the single flight of stairs to my grandparents' apartment. He thanked me for joining him and as my grandmother welcomed us back, the three of us settled into rest mode.