an update

Kris: It has been some time since we added a contribution to this blog, and we are sorry for that. While we may not be the most prolific bloggers, I would impress upon the reader the importance of quality over quantity! So, buckle up and prepare for another mammoth entry. If we're nice, we may break it up into several smaller entries to allow for a potty break.

I think I may LOVE the temples here! Along with being beautiful and quite peaceful (you can actually escape the somewhat oppressive humidity if you find the right spot), they freely (well, for a price) tell you your fortune. Yay! It's always a good idea to know what to expect... So, JL and I paid whatever charge there was to learn our fortunes according to that particular Japanese temple... I am 'little luck', while poor JL can anticipate 'no luck'. Oh, he better watch out!

I guess I was unsatisfied by the descriptive nature of 'little luck' so while visiting China Town I make Kim and JL stop in at a Chinese temple. VERY beautiful!!! They have a different method of divining your fortune and, after 2 tries my fortune came out as very lucky. Even better!!! The lady who translated for me seemed very happy and took special care to make sure we exited the temple correctly to ensure the fortune would come to fruition. Um, maybe I should double check that translation...... Nah, I'll go with it.

JL: You can do that, because I am done with translating. Since our last post we translated the theoretical exam. Even though it was 9 questions (as opposed to the 3 practical tasks) we were able to finish the translating faster. This gave us a chance to meet the teams we had not gotten to and trade more gifts. Afterward we had a chance to socialize with some of the other teams - Australia, Liechtensein, Norway, Sweden and Denmark.

Kris: Hanging out with the other teams has probably been the best part of this experience. I mean, sweating on the bus on the way to the excursions is great and all, but nothing beats actually talking to people. The Denmark delegation was particularly interesting. Not only are they housed near the 'penthouse', their side of the building seems to steal the air conditioning from our side. Since we don't have enough time to 'bulk up' our AC with the steroids all professional US athletes are supposed to be on I guess we'll have to settle for complaining about living in the 'slums' (which we have become quite good at). Even though the accommodations are quite nice we still complain about them on a regular basis. It’s fun actually.

But, I digress, back to the Danes. Great group of folks but with questionable ability to discern edible food. I don't know if it's just that I'm a tad more vocal than others and physically incapable of keeping my opinion to myself (a little known fact, I know), but there are some disgusting foods here. Brian (one of the Danes) had an example of this in his possession and I was guilted/pressured/challenged/whatever into tasting something called 'Almond Fish'. With my eyes closed and hope in my heart I snatched something from the bag and popped it in my mouth. I did not grab an almond. Darn. The little dried fish (complete with head and eyeballs gaping at me as he approached my non-salivating mouth anticipating his second, and final death) is fairly low on the Fletcher Squid Scale of Nasty but high on the not-yet-articulated Longevity Scale. Copious amounts of vending machine beverage failed to remove the lingering flavor. Darn.

I mention the Squid Scale, I suppose I should explain it. As you know we had the unfortunate experience of accidentally ordering squid ink pizza (which JL now says he wish he had sampled, interesting). Since this was so, um, not tasty to me I have started ranking other foods relative to the squid ink, thus the birth of the Squid Scale. Apparently not all squid is gross (I have yet to discover edible squid and am in no hurry to seek out said edible squid) but the Squid Ink Scale seems a bit long and doesn't roll off the tongue in quite the same way.

Anyway, we will have to post in short bursts because we are off to yet another Jury meeting. This time we are electing members of the Steering Committee. JL is running for reelection, so here is hoping we re-elect him. Go JL!!!!