Thursday Thirteen #8

13 Things I Learnt in April

1) There are 9 tones in Cantonese, as opposed to the famous 4 in Mandarin.

2) People in Palembang assume that being called for an interview means they've got the job.

3) The short cut to picking the husks out of rice is to soak all the rice you want to cook. The husks will float to the top. Background to this is that the rice we buy here are so full of grains with the husks still on that it is really annoying to eat if you don't sort them out first. A real pain!

4) If Aaron does not wake from his morning nap before 10am, he will not be able to fall asleep for an afternoon nap and the rest of the day will be difficult with an overtired toddler. This is irregardless of the morning nap duration.

5) Tomatoes (and perhaps all fruit) grow from the spot where their flowers bloom. NEw to me! This shows you how ignorant a gardener I am :)

6) Cabbage belong to the same family as broccoli and are also a super food. Supposedly, it "stimulates the immune system, kills bacteria and viruses, and is a good blood purifier."

7) Mother panda's need to help their young urinate and defaecate. They also er...ingest the product afterwards. Talk about dedicated potty training! I learnt this from a friend who was watching some panda documentary while chatting with me.

8) Buses in Panama sound as garishly decorated as the ones here in Palembang. Bilbo, was the one who left a comment on my Angkut post and shared this piece of information.

9) Looking after one toddler is a walk in the park compared to watching over a toddler and a four year old. I can't imagine what it must be like to be a mom of two! Getting my practice now watching over Aaron and Linmas.

10) The flip-flop style slippers sold in the markets here are colored according to size. Meaning that you don't have a choice of colors, it all depends on how big your feet are.

11) Pluto was downgraded to "dwarf planet" status in August 2006. This means that there are only 8 planets in our solar system now. I guess I missed that news because the decision was made the same month Aaron was born.

12) A popular method of weaning in Indonesia is to rub a particularly bitter leaf on before each feed so that the baby will be too disgusted by the taste to continue. A little drastic! Wonder how the women then dealt with the engorgement.

13) A 'tare' is a term to describe the weight of an empty container or vehicle.