[pics incl] [it’s long… but I think worth the read] A good friend of ours, Kevin Leung, called yesterday and invited us to Dim Sum. About an hour before lunch, he called back and said some friends would also be there and he’d like to introduce us, so bring some business cards.
First, we had no idea what Dim Sum meant but we did know it involved Chinese food, so count us in! [In my totally “white” naive way, I have decided that Dim Sum is the Chinese equivalent to British High Tea and crumpets ;-)… you drink Chinese green tea and eat all sorts fabulous little Chinese appetizer type foods].
Second, we have learned that maybe we should ASK Kevin for more details when he invites us out to appetizers with some friends.
It turned out that Kevin had invited us to the Chinese Spring Celebration. Yeah, that’s not just a Chinese holiday-type party, with food… this included everyone who is anyone in the Chinese community in Colorado, the local councilman and our U.S. Congressman Mike Coffman. [I leaned over and told Jeff that I was REALLY HAPPY that I had decided that I should not wear jeans!] Kevin had purchased an entire table at this event and invited us. There was a seating chart for the table and somehow… my name was the only one they spelled correctly?!?! There were 4 white people… the councilman, the congressman, Jeff and myself 😉 [just kidding, there might have been 6 😉 ]
I decided to start snapping pictures with my phone and I leaned over and told Jeff, even if I cannot understand anything, THIS is definitely “blog worthy.” 😉
The entire proceeding (except for about 1 minute where Congressman Coffman spoke) was entirely in Chinese. Needless to say, it was completely obvious when I wasn’t clapping or laughing at jokes, that I did not know a word of Chinese. 😉 I have to say though, that it was VERY interesting and even fun to watch.
At one point, during all the Chinese presentations… all of a sudden, everyone stopped, looked at our table and pointed. UMMM…. Monina yelps, “dad, pay attention!” And Kevin promptly stood up to be recognized.
Congressman Coffman went to every table to meet everyone and made a special point to talk to the Leung girls, asking each one their grade, school and favorite subject.
THEN… there were door prizes 😉 They had made it more than halfway through the list of prizes and Jeff mentioned that he was GLAD they hadn’t called his name because we probably wouldn’t understand them if they did call our names. Keep in mind that there is a lot of talking and presenting going on but it is all in Chinese.
The “Scott” caught our attention 😉
Jeff won first from our table, he was embarrassed, so of course, I stood near our table to take a picture. Then everyone shouted at me, motioning for me to move, shuffling me by the arm and saying: “we are all Chinese and we like to take GOOD pictures, go move to the front, make them pose for a GOOD picture, we will wait.” OK… now I’m embarrassed 😉
More talking and presenting in Chinese…
Monina also won a prize! She had written her “Chinese name” on the slip so it took her a minute to realize they had in fact, called HER name! Hers was art depicting water dragons… ok, that one took a while for us to figure out they meant shrimp… So in fact, she has a painting of shrimp and took a picture with the artist.
I won next from our table 😉 I was posed next to a very elderly Chinese woman for photos. Then, another woman came and spoke to me. She was presenting this elderly woman as “the oldest Chinese mother” in their community. I immediately recognized the honor and wish that I could have spent much more time gleaning stories from someone who was obviously an amazing woman with a rich history to offer! If nothing else, I think I have learned from my girls, to say “Thank you” in Chinese… so I did. Either I pronounced it correctly, or she recognized my effort… or I actually told her to give me a bear hug 😉 The elderly woman gave me a great big hug.
Jeff and I were then promptly dubbed “the lucky couple.”
I will never again assume a last minute lunch invite from Kevin is just lunch. 😉
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