Mahjong

Friday night Tara took me to meet some of her friends to eat pizza and play Mahjong. They were fantastic. Wendy and her husband Jimmy were our hosts and Lydia and Lindsay were there also to round off the group. Wendy works with Tara and Jimmy works at the Logitech factory in Suzhou. They live in an apartment that trumps mine any day and have a great set up. They were so welcoming and lovely and I had a great night.

We arrived around 6:30 and ate some food and watched a few rounds of mahjong. I paired up with Lydia, watching and learning before setting off on my own when she left early to go study for a drivers license test the next morning. We aren't in Yangzhong anymore, Dorothy. I caught on and then played myself with Jimmy giving me pointers. It was actually a lot of fun. I think I need to buy myself a set...

Quick description- Mahjong is a clever game... kinda like Rummikubs or rummy. It really improves your recognition of Chinese characters as well because they are on the little tiles. You need to get a pair, and then 4 sets of three (either pairs or runs) with your tiles, or 7 pairs... You can only pick up a tile that is discarded instantly and you must play it immediately in a run or pair.

So then the Argentina game started at 9pm and I told them all about my fantasy team. I have Messi on my team and they were so animated and fun as we watched Argentina score goal after goal... And when Messi scored they went wild. It was really great and refreshing to watch women so excited over sports. Both Wendy and Lindsay knew the rules and what was going on during the game, and it made me wish that they grew up wtih the opportunity to play sports and were encouraged to do something athletic. I told Wendy that she would be a great football player and she was like... really? I said of course, half of the battle is being excited and having energy and she rocked at that already!

It was a wonderful night and I feel so lucky to have met really great people!

**Lydia is in black, Lindsay is in the bright blue, Jimmy is the only guy, Tara is the white girl (duh) and Wendy is the photographer.