Don't sing when it's that time of the month.

I got a funny email from my friend Brooke, who lives in Beijing, the other day. She wrote the following story about a conversation she had with her Chinese friend:

"I made tacos and it was the first time she'd eaten anything like that. When she realized we weren't going to cook the lettuce and vegetables, she told me she was having her period, so she couldn't eat cold food. I hadn't heard of that before, so thus began a discussion about our cultures' period dos and don'ts. We microwaved her taco, so she wouldn't mess up her body's balance with cold food. She also needed hot water, which is common for most Chinese people. I told her my mother always puts ice in her water and she said, "Even during her period?" and I said yes. "Really? And she's okay?" Yes again! (you're okay, right, Mom? : ) ). My friend brought some jiaozi (like potstickers) for us to eat too and we each ate a whole, raw clove of garlic with it for our women's health.

Later, we were reading the Book and she showed me that she brought her Chinese fellowship song book. I couldn't read the Chinese, and I asked her to sing one for me. She furrowed her brows and whispered, "Do you think I'll be okay?" "What?" , I asked. "Women are never supposed to sing when they have their period.", she said, "That's not the same in America either?" "Nope!," I said, "I sing all the time!" Apparently, it's really bad for your throat to sing while on your period. Her teachers all throughout school always told her that. After we discussed other things (mostly involving staying warm during your period), she said, "So, American women just do whatever they want during that time of the month?" "Basically", I said. I wasn't sure whether to be proud of our freedoms or ashamed that we apparently take such poor care of our fragile bodies. All this is to say, we didn't sing tonight. : )

As she got ready to leave, I told her I'd make spaghetti for her next week. Then I remembered she once told me she doesn't like tomatoes. So, I said I wouldn't make it after all. She said, "Oh! I like to-may-toes. I don't like to-mah-toes." Seriously, ladies, I had the humorous privilege of saying...."To-may-to, to-mah-to. They're the same thing." (like the song...let's call the whole thing off!)."

As my mother pointed out, Brooke's friend is probably telling all of her Chinese friends how weird we are, too!