Conformity is the Mother of Stability (2)

In our Kamikochi trip, we lodged in a small hotel in the woods. The hotel is run by a couple, they also teach how to dry and preserve flowers. Very cute little wooden ryokan with western style decor. When having dinner, Irene, my mom and I sat in one side of the table and Grace, XiaoHo, Kevin the other side. XiaoHo as usual was making a fuss of intaking any food into his mouth (he just does like to eat). But my mom's attention was drawn to 2 young ladies sitting in the table behind Grace, XiaoHo and Kevin. Irene and I particlpate in observing them.

The young girl's back was straight as log when sitting down. She didn't move or leg or change their posture. They moved elegantly, gracefully using the knives and forks to send the foods into their beautifully opened mounths. Talked in low voice, everything is so proper to the extend that ordinary Taiwanese would find impossible and entertaining (at least my mom was very entertained). Looking at our table, XiaoHo is putting his toy dinasours into the rice, insisted they need the rice more than he does. I was using my hand to pick up the unwanted Tomato from Irene's plate and asking for another glass of wine.

My mom's feeling is the 2 young ladies' restrained and controlled motions (and emotion, maybe) are very uncomfortable. They cannot even let off their guard when sharing a meal with siblings (we later found out they are sisters, Irene heard them calling each other. Because we cannot imagine why people would want to be so polite in front of your own family members). We even observed the plates after they have done their food and left. Wow, the fruit scrapes are set at the 9 o'clock position and the used knife and fork were pointing at 10 o'clock. The finished plates looks identical. Wow, we again gave our admiration. But if we are going to do the same? No way, our table is so messy after we are done, ha ha ha. We are so Taiwanese.

However, this 2 girls gave us a lot of fun. The next day, I kept my mom company in the yard when she played her Taichi, then we sat down chatting around 6:30, with my back facing the entrace. My mom suddenly said to me "The 2 freaks comes back.". It took me a while to realise who she was talking about. Kevin was not seeing those 2 girls during the dinner time, he was so curious that my mom exchange seats with him for breakfast. Again, the way they eat the unruly salad amazed Kevin (they used the fork to comb clean the shreded cabbages, until they are stable enough to be sent to the mouth).

During our trips, various questions were raised. Such as when we were eating ice cream cone, question like "would those 2 ladies lick the ice cream in public?", or "Would whose 2 ladies use the flushing sound to cover their peeing sound".