29 DECEMBER, women's day
In the emergency igloos, after the good night's sleep the guests open their eyes to a new day at around 8 o'clock. The sun hasn't risen yet though in this remote location north of the Arctic Circle. Nonetheless, this doesn't prevent the kids from quickly getting dressed in their outdoor clothes, barging out, taking a dive in the snow and throwing snow in the air. To contrast, their parents are still stretching their legs and rubbing their eyes sitting on their beds, trying hard to wake up to this new day.
In one of these igloos, drowsy Mr Xiangdong says to his almost-as-drowsy wife,
'They didn't wake us up last night to see the Northern Lights.'
His wife answers, 'No, they didn't. There weren't any to see last night I guess.'
Mr Xiangdong continues, 'This is now the beginning of the sixth day here for us. We'll be leaving in a few days' time. I'll be really disappointed if we can't see any before we leave.'
'Me too, but remember they haven't made any promises we would see them. It's up to laotian(ie, God; Heaven) to grant us our wish, isn't it?'
'My darling, maybe you are right. We have to be patient.'
'Let's get up, go to the kitchen tent to have some breakfast, shall we, my love.'
They put on more clothes, step out and walk in the brisk winter weather, which makes them less drowsy and more conscious of the cold air. They hurry their steps to the tent, enter it quickly and find a table to sit down at.
After the breakfast the guide tells them today's, or to be more precise, also tomorrow's, programme, the content of which comes as a bit of a surprise. Today is the women's day. They can do some shopping today while the men stay with their kids here in the forest with a variety of activities to do. Today's activities are aimed to please, for the most part, the kids' preferences with some appeal to the men's likings too. Tomorrow's programme will have the same emphasis on being kid-friendly too, but the activities will be sure, to some extent, to please their mothers too. On the other hand, tomorrow will be the men's day, without any responsibility for the kids to prevent them from venturing to their heart's content. Both the sexes are more than pleased with this arrangement and can't wait to get down to business.
The ladies are taken back to Santa's Hideaway on a snowcat. Then they make necessary arrangements (shower, blow-dry their hair, make up, change clothes, which don't match with their make-up, change them again and then again and yet again, and finally in only two short hours maneuver into clothes, boots and hats with satisfactorily matching colours with their make-up) to leave for their shopping spree (which may help them find, hopefully, more matching clothes for their make-up, and, of course, a handbag). After that they are escorted to the Santa-Co-Motion, which takes them to the bus, which in turn takes them downtown, blindfolded on the bus again during the first 15 minutes, to keep the entrance to the train tunnel location secret.
'You can uncover your eyes now. We are not in our destination, a shopping centre, yet though.'
After another 15 minutes the bus comes to a screeching stop and releases its excited shoppers into the overwhelming embrace of the shopping centre. During the latter part of the trip to the shopping centre the guide briefed them about the time allotted to spend at the centre. Besides the guide divided them into pairs of one Chinese lady and one Finnish and instructed them to meet on every hour, in the place agreed together upon during the previous get-together. They are given a map of the shopping centre to help them more easily locate each time where to meet again in an hour. During the first get-together an hour later they show their purchases to their pair, ask about or comment on the purchases using their own native language but during the next get-together it's time for them to start using their partner's native language, with the help of their partner if necessary.
Shortie or Ccookie?
During the get-togethers they will practise Finnish and Chinese. However, there will be some confusion and hurt feelings. To get to know what kind of language practice they have and what things cause conflicts, go to the Appendices and read Ccookie 10.
You can of course go on reading right here too, if you are not willing to take a Ccookie 10 just now:
While the ladies are shopping, the men are taking care of their kids out in the forest and it is anybody's guess what actually happens there but one thing is sure: more snow flies up in the air and since it has started snowing and it's a bit warmer now, diligent hands start making round balls and the balls are not only up in the air but fly through the air in the hope of hitting their target just a moment ago found in their crosshairs.
At dusk, while the ladies have already retired to their comfy beds in Santa's Hideaway, all tired after the hard day shopping and some especially happy receiving a surprise gift thanks to mastering all the expression in both languages, it seems the hardest part of the day for the men and the kids is just about to start. The guide gives them each a spade and two tubes, one of which has got an insulation all around its outer surface and an insulated collar attached to its other end, whereas the other tube inside the first one hasn't got any insulation at all.
The other fathers look askance at Mr Li (Qiangdong) but it is Mr Wang's son Xudong who is the first one to understand what's going on; his wish has just been granted. The guide orders him not to reveal just yet what's going on.
Challengor 5
STRENGTHEN YOUR PHYSICS AND BECOME A BETTER BUILDER
How can physics be made to work for us?
Do you want to learn to control natural phenomena for the benefit of nature and all humanity?
If your answer is 'Yes', read Challengor 5 in the Appendices.
However, if this is not your thing right now, go on reading the story right below:
After the guide have explained a bit complicated system to all of them, he turns to Mr Li and asks,
'So Mr Li, shall we bury Xudong's father under snow now? And let him be the first one to sleep under the snow?'
Mr Li agrees.
Xudong and the others start putting some snow on top of his father's half-pipe.
Xudong's father asks, 'How can I get out if I want to relieve myself?'
The guide says, 'You have a bottle with a long neck inside your sleeping bag and a little torch there too. However if you need to come out for another reason, just push the lid right behind your head to get an opening for you to crawl out. Or you can ask me to come and help you out by pulling this cord. It alarms me to come help you.'
A bit later, Xudong feels excited because his wish has just come true; he finds himself in the half-pipe under the snow. However on the advice of Mr Li, the smaller kids and their fathers stay overnight in the igloos.
One more adventurous day in Santa's wonderland has drawn to a close and the tired explorers fall one by one fast asleep.
YOU ARE READING
Weigh Out Way-In
General FictionThere is an unexpected turn in the story that drastically changes the course of events and, in the long run, even the lives of those involved. Magpie, the first to be involved, suddenly finds himself in the world so unlike his own. Will he find his...
