Monday, August 24, 2009

Literacy Motivators

Well, last post is a tough post to follow. So I haven't been too sure what to write next.

By way of news, I've finished up Summer Camp, which means all the things I've been putting off until work was done are now catching up to me. I've got some cleaning to do, emails to send, but more importantly, I'm starting my career as an author today.

Which isn't entirely true. Mostly I've just decided to try and be an author, and I'm starting to write this week. So it's not really a career yet, since nobody's given me any money.

I may actually put up a second blog for stuff I'm working on, so stay tuned on that one.

In the meantime, I thought I'd share some thoughts on the things that inspire me toward literacy:

Salty Soda and Lime Green Tea Mentos Gum.

Random, I know.

But, as most of you know, I'm mostly illiterate when it comes to reading Chinese, so when I'm out and am buying some kind of new product, I'm very in the dark as to what it actually is. Most of the time it's not that big of a deal, but I had a couple jarring accidental purchases.

Salty Soda: 7-11 got in this new soda from a brand that I recognized, with the picture of a refreshing lemon on the front. It looked decent, so I bought it, but discovered upon drinking it that it was actually salty. Hmm. It wouldn't be so bad if M and I hadn't done that Lemonade Cleanse a few years ago, complete with the salt-water flush in the mornings. It's a long and exciting story involving some very urgent trips to the toilet. So the combination of lemon and salt-water made me feel like I was back on the cleanse, which was unpleasant to say the least. When I took the bottle home to show M, she pointed out that right on the front of the bottle it says "Salty Soda!" in Chinese. Ah. Good to know.

Lime Green Tea Gum: And then a few days later, I'd had too much garlic and onion for lunch, so I went looking for some gum to buy. Mentos seemed safe enough, so I bought the green stuff, which looked like spearmint to me. But alas, not so. I had M try it and we couldn't quite pin down the flavor(s) until she read the label for me. Lime and Green Tea. Hmm. Actually this gum wasn't really that bad, just weird. The salty soda on the other hand...

6 comments:

Tawny said...

how funny! i am also currently working on becoming an author. i have a good story cooking up in my head. i plan to earn millions!

J.Dou said...

maybe we should start a writer's grotto. I don't know what it is but marilyn says it's when writers live together.

you should move to beijing. it's cheaper here so you can spend more time writing.

Florence said...

haha. your post made me laugh :o) I miss you two.

Jared said...

Once t a 7-11 in Taiwan I saw a slurpee machine that had a new red flavor, it looked really good. Then I read "sour plum" and puked in my mouth. I'm pretty sure that was what the slurpee would have tasted like.

J.Dou said...

At least they have slurpees in taiwan. When friends first arrive here in China and see 7-11s, they usually ask right away, "Ooh, do they have slurpees?" The answer is no.

Sour plum does sound pretty gross though.

Tawny said...

a writer's grotto sounds like just a great idea! it might be cheaper there, but the brain food/snacks sound like they might fall short of delicious and normal!