Calling chopsticks a car, and confusing "uncle" cultures

Relevant Taiwan conversation until my Trillian froze:

[00:52:58] Flami: I'M GOING TO YELL AT YOU BECAUSE I CAN!
[01:07:12] Corey: you better not, I just bought you a present yesterday! and it wasn't the first one :P so be nice
[01:08:13] Flami: well, I was only doing that because I told Eric that I was going to yell at you just like I was doing to him.
[01:10:07] Corey: I found a better thing, but that one was all in Korean, so I changed
[01:14:23] Flami: I got stuff from Japan today!
[01:14:35] Corey: like what?
[01:15:35] Flami: Japanese crackers, Watering Kiss Mint gum, dark chocolate fudge Clodhoppers (okay, maybe those aren't from Tokyo :P), a peanuts package ("Energy For The Good Life"), spicy sauce in a tube, and a chocolate pie
[01:19:35] Corey: what kind of Chinese spicy stuff do you know about? something I can get in a jar or something I can bring home? Jane doesn't seem to know that much about that. I want to bring something really really hot home for my sister's husband
[01:19:48] Corey: or I guess there's tons of Japanese stuff here, too
[01:22:06] Corey: and Thai and all kinds of crap :P but it seems like most of the really spicy things are just things you go buy "ready to eat," not really sauces to buy
[01:25:27] Flami: hmm... I don't know
[01:25:43] Flami: XO Sauce, but I wouldn't call that extremely spicy
[01:26:18] Corey: we went to Carrefour (like a French version of Wal-Mart that they have here for some reason), and they had a lot of things... but I didn't really know what was actually hot, and she didn't either. there's about 9 billion little shops, some of which must have spicy things....
[01:29:50] Flami: probably... I really don't know much about that, either
[01:31:40] Corey: well you know a lot of Chinese people, so ask some :P
[01:36:38] Corey: oh, I met a Chinese person from Vancouver :P well, from here, but lives in Vancouver now
[01:36:52] Corey: Jane has an aunt and uncle that live there, and the uncle is here
[01:37:27] Corey: and I had that thingy you like today... in the steamer whatever
[01:37:29] Corey: pork ones
[01:37:40] Corey: si long bao? I don't know how to spell it :P
[01:39:46] Flami: YAY! SIU LONG BAO! YAY YAY YAY! :D :D :D
[01:41:36] Corey: with kung pao chicken, and some soup stuff made of rice and corn, and a beef burrito (what the hell are burritos doing here?? it seemed like a Chinese thing though, so I think that's just English menu weirdness :P it was easier to have Jane's aunt translate the Chinese menu than try to read the English one they brought for me
[01:42:10] Corey: I tried to explain that that was Mexican food, and this very Chinese restaurant probably doesn't have that, so it looked funny, but I don't think she really understood :P
[01:44:18] Corey: she says she understands me more than it probably looks, but she doesn't always know how to reply well
[01:44:34] Flami: beef burrito?! that does seem out of place
[01:44:58] Corey: well... it kind of was a burrito, but it was a fried thing, cut into slices, and had a lot of cucumber and stuff inside
[01:45:17] Corey: probably not a tortilla though, but something flat and similar
[01:45:45] Flami: I don't think I've had that before
[01:52:06] Corey: they had pork ones, too. I ordered pork, but they said they only had beef today, so beef it was. I actually didn't really want that at all, but she thought I did since I was talking about it :P it was all right, though
[01:54:24] Flami: haha, oh well... at least you didn't have too much fried food and stuff like I did tonight - fried wonton, yam fries, and more
[01:54:43] Corey: dinner smells very fried :P (almost dinner time)
[01:55:13] Flami: oh well, I guess I spoke too soon maybe :P
[01:56:20] Flami: but man, there were at least 10 fried items at dinner... we didn't see the healthy side of the room till later
[01:57:33] Corey: I'm not really even hungry... I had bubble tea, and it feels like I'm totally full from that... I finished it like two hours ago, but it was too much. I'm not sure why since it's a small one
[01:58:27] Flami: I think I'll be totally full from this dinner to last me till tomorrow - good thing, since I no longer have any leftover pizza because the fridge door seemed to be ajar all day
[01:58:53] Corey: bjar it next time
[02:00:20] Flami: no such thing
[02:03:47] Corey: well, crap
[02:04:00] Corey: I feel like I'm going to puke if I try to eat anything, and Jane isn't here to explain
[02:04:51] Flami: just how much stuff is on the dinner table?
[02:05:19] Corey: uh... wo shiang shur, kashur wo bu hoy? (I want to eat, but I can't).. not sure if that works
[02:05:27] Corey: oh yay, Jane is on MSN now, finally
[02:07:30] Flami: oh good, maybe she can tell you how to say that... I recognize three words out of that
[02:14:06] Corey: well, you don't speak Mandarin, do you? plus I don't know how to spell anything right :P that's just sounds :P
[02:22:52] Flami: I hear some of it at church... and I know wo is "I" ... shiang sounds like a nasal version of the Cantonese word for "want"... and shur is "eat," by context - I probably have heard that at church, too
[02:27:26] Corey: shiang is want... and it's not nasal :P Jane says it's really shiang yao.. or just yao, but my lessons said shiang, so that's the one I know how to work with :P
[02:28:18] Flami: that sounds like "want to have" from my understanding of Cantonese, but whatever works - and she would know
[02:28:50] Corey: that's probably about right
[02:30:51] Corey: in other Chinese news, Jane's mom tried to teach me "get out of the car," but I thought she was saying "shoes," and I was confused
[02:41:25] Flami: yeah, that would be confusing - what a mental image!
[02:45:10] Corey: the two words are close, I don't remember how to say them right :P
[02:47:43] Flami: understandable
[02:48:14] Corey: I think I called chopsticks a car once, too
[02:49:48] Corey: they both end in tzu, and I can't remember the first part very well (the most important part :P)
[02:50:28] Corey: I still can't tell you how to say chopsticks, and they've tried to teach me that one about a million times :P if anyone says it, I know it, but I can't repeat it well. I finally figured out how to say bubble tea, though
[02:51:00] Corey: oh, and did I tell you that assuming I come back here, I have a job now?
[02:53:02] Flami: hey, my sister-in-law also got a job this week - good work!
[02:53:49] Flami: you said that if you did well in a demo, you could have a job or something, so this works
[02:58:25] Corey: well, the demo with kids went well, I guess.. they never actually told me that, but since they offered me the job immediately afterward, I think it's safe to say that it was good enough
[03:07:31] Flami: that's good... my sister-in-law is doing full-time freelance work
[03:07:38] Flami: contract work
[03:09:43] Corey: oh, and I forgot to tell you earlier, Jane's niece calls me "Corey su su" (Uncle Corey), and it sounds like that's going to be more than just a fun title here pretty soon
[03:19:00] Flami: sounds good
[03:19:35] Corey: oh yeah?
[03:20:39] Flami: well, unless either of you rejected a proposal outright
[03:21:31] Corey: huh?
[03:21:36] Corey: I don't think you got what I was saying
[03:21:44] Corey: right now, they call me "uncle" even though I'm not one
[03:21:58] Corey: news from home says that's not going to be the case anymore
[03:22:15] Flami: yeah, I know about that Chinese cultural thing VERY well
[03:22:51] Flami: well, if she calls you that and it's not going to be a fun title, it might be a serious one - like marriage!
[03:23:11] Corey: news FROM HOME... about being an uncle!!! this isn't that difficult! :P
[03:23:47] Flami: and if you're saying what I think you're saying, then... WHY IS EVERYONE GETTING PREGNANT?!
[03:32:03] Corey: because they want to, I guess!
[03:32:03] Corey: apparently, that will happen around Halloween
[03:32:04] Corey: well, the baby
[03:32:21] Flami: baby?
[03:32:31] Flami: oh yes, the baby...
[03:32:55] Flami: ha, so will my friend's pregnancy

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