Shee Yun lost her 7th tooth yesterday. She only lost her 6th a few weeks ago, after it had been wiggly for a long time, and I didn't expect the 7th to come off so soon. The 6th was one of the front teeth, the 1st on her upper right quadrant. The 7th was the 2nd tooth on her upper left quadrant. That means these two teeth were on both sides of her other front tooth (1st on upper left quadrant). That front tooth has grown big and healthy for some time, so now she has gaps on both sides of it. At a glance (when she is not grinning or trying to show her teeth), Shee Yun looks like she only has one tooth, which is funny.
I am still often amused by how Chen Rui speaks Sabahan slang Mandarin, e.g. the use of "meh4" and "la2". "Meh4" is issuing a challenge, or questioning what isn't something done such-and-such a way. E.g. "不是浆（这样）子的meh4?" (shouldn't it be done this way?). "La2" is telling you you are wrong, e.g. "不是浆（这样）子的la2" (this is not the right way to do it). It's amazing how one word can change the meaning of a sentence so much.
Michelle has successfully instilled in the children the importance of eating fruits. Once Shee Yun declared to us at the dinner table, "我吃很多fruits所以可以大便" (I eat a lot of fruits so I can poo). Thank you very much for mentioning it when we are having dinner.
2 comments:
Ha ha ha, Nick ahve always wodered about the use of 'lah'. 'lah' ahve spread so far and wide that anyone hangign out with a Malaysian, be they european, asian or otheriwse, cannot help themselves but start peppering their sentenecs with 'lah', usually in a totally incorrect and awkward,funny way. Imperial College actually produced a T-shirt with a huge 'lah' printed across the back. And you know what, it is actuallyreallyreally difficult to explain to someone exactly in what context you should be using 'lah'. Nick uses it sometimes and its all wrong, and it makes me laugh. after all theses years I still haven't managed to explain clearly to him how and when he shoukd use'lah'. Do you ahve the same experience?
There are tourist T-shirts which illustrate the usage of "lah", but I think it's hard for non-Malaysians to fully grasp it. It's not just the possible context (which is confusing enough), there's also the intonation. Probably the best way for Nick to start using "lah" is by following strictly those few situations that are very clear cut, e.g. the modest "No lah", and the strong denial "No lah". Wait... this is probably going to confuse him...
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