Moo?

So, lately, I've been thinking a lot of deep thoughts, but for the life of me I can't think what any of them were.... If I shared any of them with you, please tell me!! There were quite a few that just made me stop and think "wow! This would make a really good blog!" But now.... *sigh* I'll just go with whatever pops into my head....

Let's start with silence.

And cows.

At our family ranch in Robertson, WY, we have a herd of about 2oo head of Black Angus cattle. There will be times when we are working the cows (herding, tagging, branding, giving vaccinations, etc.), when at the peak of all the ruckus, there is a moment of complete and udder silence. (sorry, bad pun there - couldn't help it) All 200 of them will suddenly stop mooing. This silence only lasts for about five seconds, but it's rather unnerving all the same. Is there some kind of disturbance deep within the earth that only cows can sense? What is it that creates this strange phenomenon?

I know I might sound a little weird, and a few of you may be wondering why I am not in a mental hospital. But I promise, if you have spent as much time as I have around cows, this would be strange and slightly creepy to you, too. Have you ever heard 200 cows all mooing at once? It's LOUD. It's so loud you can't hear yourself think. But just when you think you're going to lose it because it's so noisy, everything goes silent. It's almost as if someone pressed mute on the TV.

I still like my older brother's interpretation: He says the cows are in a movie, and all at once they forget their lines. The director reminds them, "moo!" and they all start up again. (the silence is usually broken when one rebellious cow moos really loudly)

I can just see everyone scrambling for the phone book, wondering where the nearest asylum is. But seriously, people, where's the fun in that? I want to know what everyone thinks about silence. I might make a poll about this, but if I don't, just comment and tell me what you think :D

I am part of all I have met.........John Donne

My family has always been very culturally alert. My dad went on his LDS mission to Taiwan, my mom to Honduras, and my older brother will be in Montreal, Canada in about two weeks. I love foreign music, and everyone in my family is at least bilingual. But I still think I like the food the best!

Even now, I can tell that one of my favorite childhood memories when I get older will be the smell of my dad's Chinese cooking. He has exposed my family and I to the language, the music, and the food he would buy on the streets of Taiwan. Sometimes we go with him to the Asian markets in Salt Lake City. He buys ingredients to make what he would eat in Taiwan: guodz (GWOH-dzuh), or "pot stickers"; Ma Po Tofu, a rice and tofu dish; Dan Bing (DAWN bing), which is a fried egg wrapped in the Chinese equivalent of a crêpe; and a Vietnamese hot sauce made of chilies called "Sriracha".

On top of my dad's cooking, my family goes to a LOT of international "Ma 'n Pa" restaurants. We like these better than the "Americanized" restaurants because they serve authentic food. I'm not talking Taco Bell or Little Orient. Those places all buy their sauces from the same place, where as Gourmet Garden or Mandarin Cafe make their food from scratch, with recipes straight from their home countries. My family goes to international restaurants about once a week, ranging anywhere from Indian, Spanish, French, Mexican, Chinese, Japanese, and even Peruvian. I have come to love spicy foods (Sriracha, Tabasco, Wasabi... The spicier, the better!) and I always look forward to trying new regional flavors.

My dad's favorite radio station is a community radio called KRCL 90.9 FM. Their website describes it really well (so check it out and tune in!). They said they have over eight different languages, representing the minorities of Utah. Some of the programs are "Ethno-Sphere", which is music from all over the world; and "Jumbo-Africa", which is all African music; and "Voice of the Vietnamese". They have volunteer DJ's from their respective countries that know the culture and music. I love listening to their accents and what they talk about; they always have the coolest stories in between songs. It's so interesting to hear what they have to say!

My older brother, Iain, took six years of French throughout his schooling, so we all thought it was hilarious when he was called to Montreal, Canada to speak Mandarin Chinese!

Hmm. So it looks like I'm running out of time to do this.... I might come back to this particular post some other time, because I would really like to keep talking about it....

Blog Post #1

Hello, world!! :D