Just the Facts: CHICKEN FEET!

NOTE from the elder Sister Darcey--MOM: This Week I was internetless in Utah, so the letters are late. Sorry, but here they are, finally posted!

Good morning (it's 4:19 pm)! Have you eaten yet? Fact: "Have you eaten rice yet?" is a common greeting here. As in, I can say it to anyone, and they'll tell me a) if they've eaten that day and b) what they ate. I can also ask a) if they cooked it, b) if it was good eating or c) if their wife/mom/brother/child/whatever made it for them. If they respond, "meih" (not yet) it is also OK to ask them a) what they will eat b) where they will eat it and c) if they usually don't eat until this time. So. Weird. I love it!

Fact: Food is such a big deal here--this week I learned it's the love language of choice! Perfect! That's MY love language!!! This week on Tuesday we had 3 chang-outs (aka people fed us--A LOT). Looking back, I probably shouldn't have prayed on Monday night for help being fed (it was the end of the month and Sister Black had casually mentioned to me she was out of food money and didn't know what she'd do for lunch the next day, so I innocently mentioned it in my prayers), or at least should've prayed more specifically... OOps, I don't think I've ever hated food this much before.

The next day we did a chang out to Yam Cha (which is infamous for its ability to kill missionaries with too much dim sum) at NINE AM (yeah, chicken feet at 9 am. Yummy!), then we had a lesson to a member referral at the member's house and she fed us cha siu faahn (ooooh, no) and PIG (the skin is really good--then there's about 2 inches of white fat, then about 2 millimeters of pig meat...eat the whole thing, please), then we went back to the church and DIED.

We We went to another less active/recent convert's home that night to teach a quick lesson and SHE fed us this thing... um... picture... how can I explain... OK, open your rice cooker. Now go outside and get a pail. Now go to the nearest pond and dip yourself a bucket, then pour that in your rice cooker with rice and that's pretty much what we ate. It had dehydrated baby squid and 800 kinds of mushrooms and slimies and squigglies and I-don't-want-to-know-what-that-is and I LOVE HONG KONG!!!!!! :) :) :) :) :)

Ooo, I also found out that if you are eating too slowly (playing the "I don't know how to use chopsticks, too bad" game in order to eat less) someone will go get you a spoon. Then you're humiliated AND doomed!

This place is so much fun. I really haven't balked at the food at all--the above is definitely true to life, but is much more fun to look back on than in the moment. In the moment, you really just... eat. And talk about how mei (delicious) everything is. I love it here.

Fact: there are (on average) about 12 levels of "spicy" at restaurants here. I get "4 siu laht" which means 1/4th small of a spicy--and it STILL blows my face off. It goes from "10 siu laht" to "jung siu laht" (middle small) all the way to "daaih laht" (big spicy). Daaih laht could pretty much kill an elephant.

Fact: Hong Kong doesn't have "napkins," but licking your fingers is NOT OK (I think I already told you this...?). So we use tissues. Any citizen of HK, at any one given moment in time, has tissues somewhere upon their person. EVERYONE. It seemed so odd, but then I remembered that I started sweating the moment I stepped of the plane (and still going strong!).

Fact: it is also rude to use a toothpick without covering your mouth.

Fact: It is also entirely OK to tell anyone if they have gained weight. Sister Black said that last Christmas, someone told her that she'd gained so much weight that she should be Santa for the Christmas program. At our appointment on Tuesday with the member and referral, the referral told her she needed to lose weight but I was "just right."

Ayiyi, if... I mean, since they keep feeding me like this, I'm sure it's just a matter of time.

Fact: People are fine with us calling each other our new nicknames: Sister Darcey and Brother Darcey.

OH MY GOODNESS, I had no idea the tornadoes were this bad. People kept asking me when I told them I was from Oklahoma (in Cantonese it sounds like, O huk lai hou ma) if they were hitting my house. I just kept saying, "I trust God to take care of my family!" but MAN. I don't know if I would've been as cheery if I'd known it hit the Joplin stake center. That's terrifying.

Tell Jacob and Matti happy graduation! I love cousins! Particularly those who write to me! Happy for them!!! I don't even remember what month it is here... is it really almost June? It's so nice that life is SO different here than at home--it makes me so much LESS homesick.

Tell Derick WELCOME HOME FROM ME! Someone, please, ayiyaaaa, don't remind me! I've missed him and so will the Lord's people in Peru. But more cousins could go on mission too, you know? Who is next?

I love Miss Marla! Her RS lessons sounds wonderful. The Lord loves her so, SO much. He loves ME so much for letting me know HER. I love that woman. Oh, I know, tell her to think about all the other mommies whose babies get to be in the gospel because HER baby is on a mission. Seriously--OR how God is entrusting HIS babies to Elder Watts' missionary skills. A parent's love--pretty amazing motivation.

Ahhh, one last funny story--we went through all the baptismal interview questions with Bonnie last Saturday night (she's getting baptized this Saturday! YAY! and she'll be wearing my skirt, like she has been for the past 2 weeks, because she doesn't have her own!) Did I mention our washer's broken again? It's beautiful, I'm down to this choice every morning when I get dressed: "Hmm, shall I wear the dirty black skirt...or the dirtier blue skirt?" I love this!!! :) and she passed with flying colors. Then she said the closing prayer---and prayed to Jesus. :)

Love, LOVE LOVE
SISTER DARCEY