My parents are back!!!
They landed this morning at 4:00, and my mom forbade me from coming to pick them up, which in retrospect was a wise thing, since I only just fell asleep at around 12:00 and didn't sleep very well.
I still needed to get up to open the door to them, since our lock was changed and they didn't have a key. My internal clock woke me up at 4:00 sharp, at which point I walked into the living room to see Bisi leave me with one last gift (of course I was wrong - he was able to fit another piss right when my parents' taxi arrived). Mopped the floor (I got pretty good at that - after having mopped the floor more times these past three weeks than I have my whole life), and finished up with enough time to open the door and see Bono go nuts. The cats were vocal, Bono was jumping up and down and even Bisi wagged his tail a few times. No need to go nuts, after all.
They walked in and my mom immediately started unpacking (otherwise they stand a chance of having their things peed on), so I got a run of all their shopping (well, all of her shopping...)
Tons of scarves, silk and wool (I think three silk, four wool) in various sizes, thickness and patterns, clothes for my parents, my brother and my sister (cardigans, shirts, coats...), some shirts for my almost-brother-in-law and my ex-brother-in-law, chocolates, booze, all kinds of weird treats like thin slices of crystallized ginger and rice crispies, bags, hats... DAMN.
I got mine fairly quickly - the first thing was the Sprungli loot (they had a layover at Zurich, and since they have a daughter that's addicted to Macaroons... and BTW, if you don't know Sprungli, it's one of the best bakeries in Europe, and has an international name in Macaroons - here is their website). A box of Macaroons (they call them Luxemburgerli) and sugared chestnuts. My parents paid their weight in gold, but OH MY GOD are they amazing. Really. Nothing short of that.
I also snatched one of the silk scarves for myself, and will probably confiscate some of the other at times. They also bought me L'Occitane perfume, a picture made of a kind of wire of a traditional chinese figure and a messenger bag, which looks like leather but it ain't (it's also right to my taste, which is one of the first times my mom was able to get me a bag which is to my liking.
My dad went to sleep for a few hours and is heading to work now, and my mom went through her morning routine (back to the coal mines) and went to visit my grandma. I'm at home, as this is my last day of vacation, and I'm really happy I decided to do that, since I'm quite tired and I need this extra day.
I'm so so happy they're back. They had a blast, as well, which is very good to know. They had a good group and a good instructor, and the trip was very thorough (as much as it can be for three weeks in China).
So no more mopping for me. Well, at least not at this rate...
I still needed to get up to open the door to them, since our lock was changed and they didn't have a key. My internal clock woke me up at 4:00 sharp, at which point I walked into the living room to see Bisi leave me with one last gift (of course I was wrong - he was able to fit another piss right when my parents' taxi arrived). Mopped the floor (I got pretty good at that - after having mopped the floor more times these past three weeks than I have my whole life), and finished up with enough time to open the door and see Bono go nuts. The cats were vocal, Bono was jumping up and down and even Bisi wagged his tail a few times. No need to go nuts, after all.
They walked in and my mom immediately started unpacking (otherwise they stand a chance of having their things peed on), so I got a run of all their shopping (well, all of her shopping...)
Tons of scarves, silk and wool (I think three silk, four wool) in various sizes, thickness and patterns, clothes for my parents, my brother and my sister (cardigans, shirts, coats...), some shirts for my almost-brother-in-law and my ex-brother-in-law, chocolates, booze, all kinds of weird treats like thin slices of crystallized ginger and rice crispies, bags, hats... DAMN.
I got mine fairly quickly - the first thing was the Sprungli loot (they had a layover at Zurich, and since they have a daughter that's addicted to Macaroons... and BTW, if you don't know Sprungli, it's one of the best bakeries in Europe, and has an international name in Macaroons - here is their website). A box of Macaroons (they call them Luxemburgerli) and sugared chestnuts. My parents paid their weight in gold, but OH MY GOD are they amazing. Really. Nothing short of that.
I also snatched one of the silk scarves for myself, and will probably confiscate some of the other at times. They also bought me L'Occitane perfume, a picture made of a kind of wire of a traditional chinese figure and a messenger bag, which looks like leather but it ain't (it's also right to my taste, which is one of the first times my mom was able to get me a bag which is to my liking.
My dad went to sleep for a few hours and is heading to work now, and my mom went through her morning routine (back to the coal mines) and went to visit my grandma. I'm at home, as this is my last day of vacation, and I'm really happy I decided to do that, since I'm quite tired and I need this extra day.
I'm so so happy they're back. They had a blast, as well, which is very good to know. They had a good group and a good instructor, and the trip was very thorough (as much as it can be for three weeks in China).
So no more mopping for me. Well, at least not at this rate...