China Town (Open)

[jellar]

"Thanks Dad. I'll see you later. Come pick me up at about 5:30, alright?"

"Alright son. Don't spend too much money."

With that, Jellar was at China Town by noon with a hundred bucks in his wallet. His father had let him loose with the money as a reward for collective deeds that Jellar had been doing, such as keeping straight A's, being a good child, and other minor things of the sort. It truly wasn't much. Jellar had not spent anything for luxury since he had went to go buy a cellphone. Furthermore, he had to use part of that money to eat his lunch, but it did not bother Jellar a bit, as he was not so much of a spender to begin with. It was is first day in China Town, and he was going to have a kick at it, no matter what. However, the first thing he was going to do was eat lunch, and so he found a good place, though not for 'Yum Cha*,' to eat some good, authentic Chinese food.

~4:30 P.M.~

His wallet still had fifty bucks. He had merely been exploring the entirety of the China Town, not spending much in fear of wanting to spend on something else he may have encountered. He had pretty much went into every shop that did not require official business, though he skipped a few clothing shops as he was not exactly a fashion person. He was walking down the side walk, dodging other busy Chinese people that were doing their own thing, most of them carrying groceries. Jellar carried a medium sized bag with some merchandise in it. It wasn't much, to be honest.

The next store was a book store. Wondering what kinds of books they would be selling there, Jellar walked in. It was a good sized store divided into sections. The left half was English, and the right half was Chinese. Giving little thought other than 'English books can be found outside of China Town,' Jellar went on to the right side of the store, browsing the books. His attention went into the chess section. He had not played much upon arriving to America, but he still had many great memories of playing in China, mainly losing to his dad many many times. He stood there, taking books off the shelf, shuffling through, happily reading his native script, putting the books back, and taking another one.



*- Cantonese for 'drink tea.' However, Yum Cha in modern terms is more of a reference to going to large restaurants in which you sit at a table having the check on the table to begin with. Waiters wheel around food on a cart and if you see interest in their food, you wave them down and get their plates. The waiters then stamp your check and move on. The cost of the meal depends on the number and types of stamps that your check has. It's rather fancy, though not to a high extent.

[hyunie]

OOC: Hope you don't mind me posting.

"Xie xie ni."

With a small smile and a slight bow with her head, she headed off in the opposite direction. Ah-ha. You see, Hyunie had been lost in China Town for quite some time now. Usually, Hyunie would go no farther than the coffee shop next door to the book store, but today, she went on an "adventure" deeper into the city. She soon found out that most spoke Cantonese in the neighborhood district, but with luck, she managed to find someone who spoke Mandarin, and asked for directions. She wasn't fluent in Mandarin, but knew enough to hold a decent conversation. The kind woman drew a map out for her on a napkin leading back to the book store so that Hyunie could make her way home afterwards, and...now, here she was, making her way back with the napkin in her hands. Although the handwriting was a bit difficult to read, she was able to manage.

Then comes the question as to what she's doing in China Town anyway. To tell the truth (assuming it's Saturday), Hyunie had just finished her SAT-prep for the day at the local Hakwon, and her father agreed to let her just relax for the rest of the day. She had one of her friends from the SAT-prep class drop her off at China Town, and from then on, she began to wander around by herself. As long as she got home before her curfew, everything should be fine; and besides, it was only 4:15 at the time, and she had until 9. Yeah, a pretty early curfew for a Sophomore in high school, but what can you say? Her dad was over protective, but that was nothing compared to her mom...

Making it to the book store, she pulled open the door and stepped inside, letting the little bells jingle freely. Once in, her feet automatically moved towards the right side of the bookstore, and her hand would wave to the manager and give a light smile. She came here often, and she and the manager would exchange waves and smiles, and sometimes a few minutes to chat, but nothing more than that. Today she was looking for not only a good book to read, but also, a Cantonese/English dictionary. If there's one thing she found fascinating, it was learning new languages, though not to the point where she's completely fluent. She picked out a dictionary and flipped through it, before turning it over to see how much it cost.

Seventeen dollars... Maybe I should go home and check the internet before buying this...

None the less, she knew she was never going to check the internet anyway, and opened the book right in the middle and, as usual, began to memorize words, while walking at the same time. Mind you, walking and reading isn't that bad, since reading and walking at the same time was like a second nature to her. But trying to memorize and walk at the same time...by a book...eh, not so good. Because of that, she bumped into someone - accidentally of course - but not hard enough to fall backwards. Just a bump, really.

"Ah.. Mi-ahn...!"

And there she goes, speaking in Korean. That would be her problem; there are times when Hyunie would speak in Korean, and thinks that she spoke in English, and wouldn't realize it unless the person gave a confusing look...or just bluntly asked her what she just said.



OOC:
Xie xie ni = Thank you (Mandarin)
Hakwon = Tutoring-like school.
Mi-ahn = I'm sorry.

[travis]

Travis climber up the steps of the subway. It felt like an eternity as he climbing up the steps being knocked from side to side by people who were far to busy to care about anything or another else. Travis came over the verge stared. the gates to china town. This was what he had come to see.

Nostalgic aromas rose and fell on the wind mmediately causing casting his mind back into a state of pure and unrelenting happiness, raising his mood so much so that he wouldn't have cared if some bumped into him hundreds of times. He had to go have a look around and get lost in the world that he left behind once again.

It was more or less the same, excluding how everything was slightly Americanized but that was so small Travis chose to ignore it. And anyway if had focused on that he knew that would ruin his good mood and he didn't want anything to spoil his good mood. he wandered in between the hustle and bustle of the streets his mind closing up as his was sleep walking and left his feet to decide where they wanted to carry him.

They lead him from place to place look at anything and everything trying to soak up the atmosphere. He was like a tourist with his sunglass over his eyes and to most that was what he was until they'd ask him and if he'd seen anything he'd like and he'd reply almost fluently and with confidence. It was nice feeling talking to shop owners, people he bumped and especially the elderly who enjoyed conversing with him. the took longer than the rest but he enjoyed it none the less.

Not being able to speak the language 100% saddened him slightly but that was the way when you stopped speaking a language. A small book shop caught his.

Lets see what i can find here,"

He entered the store to see what small treasures the book shop held held.

[jellar]

(OOC: Gates to Chinatown...? Just to note, I'm not ignoring you Travis, but you're not providing anything to react or respond to.)

Caught off guard, Jellar was bumped into, and he had almost lost grip of the book he was reading, regarding certain chess situations that demanded great stakes. However, the first thing that had came to mind was not who it was, but what phrase exactly was spoken. Usually, in Chinatown people speak English, Cantonese or Mandarin. Having studied Mandarin in school and knowing it to a certain extent, he could tell that what she said was not 'dui bu qi' or anything along those lines.

"Mi-Ahn?" Jellar wondered aloud. It sounded Korean, but Jellar was not to be sure. He took a glance to the girl that bumped him. She was reading a Cantonese-English dictionary. Apparently, from simple inference, the girl couldn't speak Cantonese. 'I wonder how she gets along in here,' Jellar thought returning the chess book to the shelf he got it from. He lost interest in reading it. There was no one to actually play Chinese chess with anyways. In any case, if she was using a Cantonese-English dictionary, she probably understood English.

"Mi-ahn?" Jellar questioned, a little bit louder this time, "Watch where you're going next time, alright?" His tone was a little stern, but it was not intentional. Jellar felt no hostility; the stern voice only came out as a result of his natural voice. Whether the voice was intimidating or not depended on the listener. The girl was a little short and obviously an Asian. One guess at the looks of her eyes told Jellar she was Korean, though not to be definitely sure.

[hyunie]

It was apparent that Hyunie had spoken the wrong language when she apologized to him, and when he questioned the word "mi-han" a second time, she bit her tongue. In her opinion, she thought his voice did sound quite a bit intimidating, probably because no one really spoke to her in that kind of way before, excluding her own parents. Her eyes were lowered and she gave a nod when he said to watch where to go the "next time"; but she thought, there won't be a next time, will there? Because, what were the chances of meeting him again and bumping into him a second time? It shouldn't have been "watch where you're going next time", but "watch where you go all the time". That way, something like this won't happen again, whether it was with him, or some other random person in the street.

"I'm sorry."

She thought about explaining to him about what she was trying to do, but that would prove to be pointless. So when she apologized, she gave the traditional Korean bow, then just stood there for a second or two before hurrying past him towards the fictional section on the other side of the room. She tilted her head down towards the ground, something she always did when she walked. Of course, except at home, where both her parents would scold her if she didn't have her chin up, thinking that she would have neck problems later on in the future.

She gave a quiet sigh of relief. She told herself that she shouldn't be surprised that people were intimidating here, since she went to a school filled with hundreds of them, but still, she guessed she was surprised because she was a shy one. No one bothered to talk to her because she wouldn't really talk back. What was there to talk about?

Stopping in front of the fantasy fiction part of the shelves, she scanned her eyes past the ones she's already read, and towards books that she wanted to read, or thought would be interesting. One particularly caught her interest; "Ender's Game" by Orson Scott Card. Though it was a bit high up... Jumping for it would prove to be foolish; she wouldn't want the whole bookshelf to fall on her, unless it was drilled into the wall, but she didn't know that. Finding a stool, she pushed it to the wall and stood on top of it, pulling out the book with ease. You'd think that she'd get down from the stool considering that she got the book, right? Not necessarily. She stays up in case she doesn't like it so she can put the book back, and the stool isn't that high anyway, so she shouldn't get hurt.

[jdmthe1st]

Antonio is walking after school and he walks into a book store. The book store has dozens of shelves higher than him and too many books to count. Antonio asks for the front desk and says

"Ey! 'cuse (excuse) me but Im looking for ah book about wrestling and one book for an art class I have."

The front person looks shocked and he says "Why do you have a mask on?"

Antonio shrugs and says "Im a luchador around here and I fight in the LCFA. I cant take off my mask because then my people will hurt my family and I dont want to do that. Besides I look nice with it on. Can you help me find the books please?"

The front person says "Oh well do you know the authors of the books or maybe what the covers look like?"

Antonio thinks and responds slowly "Yah. Uh one of dem (them) has a uh guy who has a tuxedo and a mic in his hand. I tink (think) its a wrestling history book for thee LCFA and the other one has a giant butterfly with too many colors on it."

The front desk person says "Ok the wrestling book would be down in that section over there if we have it. The art book though is right behind you. Its a nice book too."

Antonio picks up the book and looks through it. He sees a bunch of pictures made by famous artists in this book and it tells how they made them. He says back to the person without making eye contact "So this is good for art right?"

The front desk person nods and he shows him to section with the martial art books. Antonio looks through every other aisle and he sees a girl standing on a stool and all the sudden the front desk person says "Hey! Its right there."

Antonio thanks the man and he walks over to this girl with dark brown hair in a bun who is standing on a stool. He looks puzzled by the way Hyunie is standing on the stool reading. Antonio walks up to Hyunie with his luchador mask still on and says

"Why are you standing up there? Is it fun up there? I think heights are fun because you get to jump off them and thats always fun. Im just here because well a person like me has to read and go to school before they can be a luchador and compete in wrestling."

[jellar]

(OOC: I don't mean to offend anyone by making this post; if anyone has anything that is not likable then by all means tell me and I will immediately change. I apologize in advance if I do offend anyone.)

Jellar Feint bit his lip in a frown as he watched the girl pass by him again. Though he would have expected his own words to be ignored by a normal person in Chinatown, this girl seemed to be on the shy side and evidently took Jellar's words too seriously and was rather sensitive to them. He let out a sigh, seeing the girl with her head down and making her way to another section of the bookstore. Sure, Jellar would have left her alone, returning his attention to his own self before even seeing her get a stool, but a rather loud kid had walked into the store and had a heavy Spanish accent, likely from Mexico.

Now, it was not very strange for Mexicans to be in Chinatown by any means, but for them to be in a bookstore was just stereotypically strange. Though Jellar had nothing to pick with Mexicans and did not hate them by any means, it was true that they were generally less academic than some other races, much less taking habits in reading. He turned his attention to the direction of the conversation, which was at the front door, and he listened to a small kid with a mask on talking with the person at the front desk.

It was almost worth a laugh to see a kid in broken English with a Mexican accent talk to a man of more or less the same height with roughened skin in broken English with a Chinese accent. Though, Jellar was able to keep his mouth shut and did not laugh.

However, almost as if the kid could not get louder, he had approached the same girl, which Jellar now discovered was on a stool, and struck up a conversation. A loud one. 'Is this guy oblivious to the fact that we're in a bookstore? He must love the sound of his voice, by the look of things. And apparently, he is proud of being a 'luchador,' whatever that is. Competing in wrestling with that height probably does not get him very far, at least for what I can see,' he thought patiently.

Finally deciding to do something before anyone else had to do it, Jellar walked to the two and, almost as if ignoring the girl on the stool, talked directly to the 'luchador.'

"Hey man, do you think you could keep it down? The volume level must have doubled when you set foot in here. If you want to talk, just take it outside, alright?"

[jdmthe1st]

(OOC: Antonio wasnt being loud. I just assumed he is talking in a normal inside voice. Its not a library its a book store. Wouldnt the cash registers make a loud noise as well?)

Antonio shifted his attention to someone else and lowered his voice and allowed pauses for coversation but said

"Oh uh I apologize. I was jus (just) wonder'n (wondering) why she was standing on tat (that) thing. I dont want to uh make trouble either. What kind uh of books are you looking for? I was picking up one thee on wrestling history for the LCFA around here. I compete in local matches around here but I dont take off the mask for alot of reasons. My people might hurt my family if they know who I am and lots of other reasons. Also I picked one up for my art class."

Antonio said "My name is Antonio though. Nice to meet you uh........."


(Also didnt know about the waiting rule. Sorry.)

[hyunie]

In her opinion, his voice seemed to be rather loud in the area. Even though he was speaking in a normal tone of voice, he was probably the only one talking - excluding the cashier. The bookstore was usually a quiet one, so once you've stayed in this quiet area for a while, your ears are used to everything being in a hushed down tone, like a library. Add a random person talking in a normal tone will sound like the volume had been up times two.

When the guy came up to her from behind and started to talk, Hyunie couldn't help but want to bury her face into the book and turn invisible. She wasn't used to people randomly coming up to her and asking her questions, so this was something foreign. She turned around a bit to face him; she didn't know exactly how to answer his question. Truth be told, she didn't know why she was up on the stool - maybe it was just a subconscious thing? Either way, she automatically assumed that he wanted to use the stool or it bothered him or something, so she started to get down until the guy she bumped into before approached them. Or him. He walked right passed her, and automatically, she tilted her head down and got off the stool. Staring at her shoes, she merely listened while the two conversed to one another.

The luchador seemed to be very open and social about certain things; he shared information that was really unnecessary to know, but she assumed it was a part of his introduction. She figured that the two were going to continue talking about books and such and whatnot, so she assumed once again that she was not needed in the area. Though, it was rude to leave a conversation while it was going on, so should she just bow and leave, or wait until it ends? She bit her tongue again before her right arm subconsciously began to rub the back of her neck; a nervous habit she picked up a while back.

"...sorry, I guess I forgot to step down after I picked a book..."

Quiet. Hesitant. Two traits that were a part of being shy. Her head was still tilted toward the floor, and she could've excused herself and left then, but the way she was raised, she waited to be dismissed. So she just sort of awkwardly stood there, eyes pointed to the floor, quiet like she always is.

[jellar]

(OOC: Well, in general, I seem to keep in mind that bookstores are more quiet than other places, as they are usually less populated. It doesn't really matter, however. Also, no need to apologize for that. It's alright with me.)

"Jellar Feint," he said, finishing Antonio's sentence. Afterwards, he added, "Nice to meet you."

Though Jellar was trying to sound friendly, he felt it strange to hear about this guy's background in wrestling so many times. It was almost like Antonio was infatuated with the idea, and that everyone had to know. Yet, he also talked about his mask protecting his family. Maybe this guy had a shifty background or something, though Jellar was not one to jump to conclusions. He would think it out, and if it really interested him, he would investigate, though the interest was not exactly intriguing him too much. If anything, the shyness of the girl next to him was even more intriguing than Antonio.

Turning his attention to the girl, Jellar spoke out, attempting to not make her feel left out in the conversation they were having, seeing that the girl did not walk away this time.

"You're pretty strange," Jellar said in a soft tone and with a quiet light-hearted chuckle. Continuing, he said, "You don't need to be so shy. Why don't you tell us your name, and we can continue this conversation outside. We're getting a little more attention that I'd like, and unless you guys need to buy anything, we could leave the store. I, for one, was just browsing, though it seems Antonio was wanting to buy something."

With that, Jellar waited for their replies, hoping to become acquainted with these two people. He really had no needs to buy any books, so he spent little money. He reached in his back pocket and took his cellphone out, looking at the time. It was now 4:45, so he still had 45 minutes left to chill in Chinatown. He'd probably spend it with these guys. Interesting guys, indeed, especially with the mask and all.

[hyunie]

"When I speak to you, you do not look elsewhere!"

Her mothers words came to mind the moment Jeller Feint began to speak to her, and slowly she lifted up her head to meet his eyes. Now, most would think that it was a bit strange for Hyunie to suddenly meet someone's gaze. She blinked once before turning to look at Antonio, and, again, gave another short bow. Once again, it was Korean tradition to bow when introducing yourself to others. She was still a bit unsure to speak her name to them, but because Jeller had asked, Hyunie found it a bit difficult to refuse. She did almost anything anyone asked her to do; it was how she was raised, so instead of putting up a fight if someone called her un-intelligent, or anything else of the sort, she'd just go along with it.

"..Hyunie Park... A pleasure to meet you both as well."

Because Hyunie had come to China Town straight from SAT-prep, she had a bag that was slung around her shoulder and layed still, limply at her side. Inside the bag was her SAT-prep book, which, mind you, is fairly large; along with a pencil case, a notebook, and other necessary things that are useful when studying. She held the books she picked close to her chest; yes, Hyunie wanted to buy these books.

"Um...I actually want to buy these books... It'll only take me a minute.."

Again, Hyunie wasn't sure if she should just leave to buy the books, or wait for something to happen, and then leave to buy the books. The whole "conversing with strangers" was a bit new to her; sure, she had friends from the SAT-prep class, but it was just a natural thing to befriend them. It was a small class, so when they worked together, they had to interact more, making them closer, and plus; the tutor made sure no one was left behind, both socially and acedemically. That, and the fact that this was two completely different scenarios. Whereas the people at the SAT-prep class were people she already knew beforehand, Jeller and Antonio were complete strangers to her.

After a slight hesitation, she decided to go up to the counter, buy her books, and join Jeller and Antonio once again - outside, she assumed - to continue on with their conversation.

[jdmthe1st]

Antonio looked at Hyunie and Jeller. Both were very interesting people to him since both seemed really intelligent. Almost an opposite of Antonio. Antonio likes to do a couple things academic wise but not too much because all he desires is a well rounded education so he could be a smart luchador.

On the other hand he was really envious of the reasons that Jeller and Hyunie were at the book store. He seemed to think they were alot smarter than him and they wanted more along the lines of 90-100% of education. Not 50-60% like Antonio wanted. Antonio wished sometimes that he could have had a normal life but it was too late for him to do anything and he had to accept his heritage. Antonio had to go the path of a luchador...........someday. He thinks it would be never.

Deep in thought Antonio loses track of the conversation for a split second. Very unlikely of him. He responds with a quieter voice but in a little shock

"OH uh Jeller Feint an (and) Hyunie Park. I dont (have) 'ave thee ple'sur (pleasure) of telling you my last name fur (for) thee same reasons I might (have) 'ave told you 'bout (about) well you get thee pictur (picture). Meet you bot (both) outside then? I need to pay fur (for) my books."

Antonio walks up to the register person and says in a quiet voice " Jus (just) need these. Do you accep (accept) debt err uh debit."

The cash person nods and he takes his card. He says "Ok your total is $44.53 also I need to ask would you like cash back?"

Antonio says still in a quiet voice "Uh cash back? I dont understand what you mean."

The cash person says "Oh you ever been to an ATM machine? Same thing. If you want you can withdraw money here?"

Antonio replies still trying to be quiet "Are you serious? Wow! Thats awesome! How much can I take out?"

The register person says "Select using the touch pad down there."

Antonio sees a bunch of options and he looks at the totals shown. $20, $40, $60, $80, $100, $200, $300, $400, $500 dollars.

Antonio points but doesnt know its a touch pad. He points to the $500 sign. The register person doesnt know what sign he is pointing at but he says "You need to push it sir. Its a 'touch' pad."

"Oh sorry. Uh Ok hows that?"

The register looks in amazement because he doesnt see alot of cash go out of the machine that often. He verifies with the luchador again "Sir did you push the correct button. You picked $500 dollars."

"Yes thats what I picked. I have plent (plenty) of money amigo. "

The cash register about to laugh his butt off is surprised that the transaction goes through. A receipt pops out and Antonio signs it as 'Firefly Kid' and puts LCFA on it as well. He takes his books and money and Antonio waits outside for the other two so they can keep talking.

[jellar]

Jellar gave three nods to the two people standing before him. One was to the one who revealed herself as Hyunie Park, for acceptance and acknowledgment of her name and her being. Another for approval, if that's what you would call it, for her to buy her book. And the last one was for Antonio to buy his book. As the two went off to the cashier register, Jellar watched them both and noticed Hyunie's backpack. It was like she was going to school. The only thing Jellar had with him was a small bag of things he had bought earlier today.

Jellar went back to browsing for a final minute or two until hearing the price on Antonio's purchase. $44.53. Now that was expensive, at least on Jellar's scale. It was ridiculous, just for a few books to cost that much money. It would be a considerable profession to be an author, at least for Jellar. He put the book he was looking back where he found it and went back outside, noticing Antonio at the ATM machine, withdrawing a sum of money. Upon further observation, Jellar's eyes opened at the five hundred dollars he pulled out. 'Man, if I had that much money to spend I'd have a pretty luxurious life...'

With that, he waited outside for Antonio and Hyunie, who proceeded to leave the store after him. Becoming acquainted with Chinatown for the past four hours proved useful, and as he walked through he quickly memorized locations and had an internal map already, even though it was the first time he had been there. It was not a simple task, but it was nothing too challenging for Jellar to do. He valued his mind above his physical ability, regardless. Though, before deciding anything, he was to require the opinion of the group.

"So guys, where do you want to go?" he asked, curious to their interests. He was ready to ask a lot of things about them. For example, why were they at Chinatown; were they Hircinians like the rest; and other things of that nature. Though there should only be one question presented at a time, so Jellar thought.

[jdmthe1st]

Antonio looks at Jeller than Hyunie. He wants to know more about them rather then having them know more about him. Not because he is shifty but because sometimes Antonio doesnt like all the attention he gets. But who can blame him?

"Honestly I dunno (dont know) how I ended up 'ere (here). Ey (hey) thurs (theres) dis (this) one place that makes thee best subs in thee world. Then thurs (theres) another place that makes thee best pizza in thee world. Then thurs (theres) an uh arcade that has killer ice cream, burgers, fries. I mean 'ey (hey) I know most of its bad but my diet isnt too strict. It jus (just) means I can only have the fun food once in a blu (blue) moon."

Antonio looks around some more and he says to them both "Is it usually dis (this) crowded here amigos? I know mysef (myself) that San Diego is crowded but I didnt think it would be dis (this) bad."

[hyunie]

Both her books, in total, cost $24 dollars. The Cantonese/English hardcover was $17, and "Ender's Game" was $6, plus tax. Hyunie was able to pay off her books by her "allowance". Actually, her dad gave her $20 a week for lunch, and since Hyunie never eats lunch at school, she merely saves up her money. She doesn't want her dad thinking she doesn't eat at school, or else word will somehow get to her mom in Korea, and then she'll make her dad send Hyunie over to her mom's house... Sure, her dad was a bit strict when it came to certain things, but her mom? No thanks. Hyunie has enough stress put on her already.

She slipped the books into her bag, and left the store to meet up with Antonio and Jeller. She was buying her books when Antonio withdrew the large sum of money, but if she did know, she would be at a loss for words.

When the question of where they wanted to go was brought up, Hyunie looked down the streets to see if there was anything interesting to go look at. Though Antonio listed quite a few places they could go - all of which included some type of "best food" - she decided, why not? Although she wasn't particularly hungry right now, she didn't mind. It was easier to converse while eating, correct? Why else would people eat out at dinners together, other than to have a "nice meal"? Or...was she wrong about this?

Anyway, Hyunie just kept silent. She would agree to go wherever the two wanted to go, because to tell the truth, she didn't really mind.

"It's probably like this because today's Saturday..."

Spoken quietly, but hey, at least she's somewhat a part of this conversation.

[jellar]

With all the suggestions Antonio made for eating, Jellar could only frown. They were in Chinatown, yet he was talking about subs, pizza, ice cream, fries, burgers, and arcades. Jellar was about ready to spend this day appreciating his Chinese culture by endorsing himself in it for the whole day, so the entire idea of getting fast food or anything of the like was not appealing. He had not seen many of the places that Antonio mentioned, so many he was just not paying much attention or keeping an eye out for those things.

He sighed patiently and listened to the whole of Antonio's suggestions. He wasn't planning to go to any of those places either. However, it would not be wrong to voice his opinions, or nothing would go right. So that's what he did.

"Hey man, we can get those kinds of things pretty much anywhere, don't you think? Why don't we take this opportunity being in Chinatown to get some good, authentic Chinese food. Upon glancing around, I pretty much know which menus have the best food. If you guys don't mind an early dinner, perhaps we could go sit down and eat some real authentic food from China. What'dya say? I think it'd be a pretty good idea."

In general, Jellar was likely not going to be convinced to spend his afternoon eating junk food. He was ready to eat things that he had in Hong Kong and stuff himself in it while he was at it. He had been craving Chinese food ever since he got to San Fransisco, as he had no time to explore the Chinatown beforehand since he was settling in and doing other extraneous things of the like. With that, he placed his hand back into his pocket and rubbed his wallet habitually, feeling the leather of it as he swung his ponytail around to the back from the front of his neck. It was a small annoyance, though it was more than tolerable.

[jdmthe1st]

Antonio looks at both of them in shock. He might have started a bad conversation but his eyes opened wide as they could be and he says

"Oh you guys never 'ad (had) really bad food before? I have chinese once a mont (month) as it is. I usually eat beef and uh meat. The good kind that 'ave (gave) me a body for wrestling. 'ince (since) you dont like it I guess we can go get chinese then. How bout (about) that place over thur? (there)"

Antonio points to a big place that has a bunch of mandarin characters on the front doors. He looks confused and says

"Uh um. 'Ey I dunno (dont know) what that says? Can you read uhh I dunno (dont know) that langag (language)? I only can read englis (english) and spanish."

[hyunie]

Well, it does make some sense to go out for some Chinese, considering that we're in China Town...

Turning her head towards the restaurant Antonio pointed out, she found that she could actually read the name of the place. Languages fascinated her, which is the reason why she studied one after another. Problem is, she would never stick to one language long enough to fluently learn it. She would often switch from Mandarin, to French, to Japanese, and back to Mandarin. Although she is able to speak Korean and English fluently, she felt that not everyone actually knew a language unless they knew every book in the dictionary.

"..Chun..Ying Garden? ...isn't that place a little expensive?"

Although she never planned on speaking that aloud, it must've just slipped. Once she realized she spoke aloud, unintentionally, she pressed her hand over her mouth and looked back towards the floor. She didn't mind if they would go there, she just thought that it was a bit fancy for them to eat lunch there.. She was expecting them to go to the cafe that served Chinese cuisine, but this works too...? She remembered once, that she went to Chun Ying Garden for a banquet party, and the average for a person was probably around $20.00. Maybe it wasn't expensive for wealthy people, but Hyunie was far from being rich.

OOC: Hm... I fixed. Thanks for letting me know.

[jellar]

(OOC: By the way, there's no such thing as 'Cantonese characters' or 'Mandarin characters.' Mandarin and Cantonese are dialects, but the written language is all the same.)

'Man, this guy doesn't seem to have much of a sense of logic. Maybe it's just my Confucian raising.' Jellar thought about Antonio as he pointed out one of the bigger buildings nearby. It was fancy, for sure, and Jellar may have eaten there should he be rich or attending a big event. However, neither situation was present at the moment, and so Jellar would have to speak up again, knowing that this dinner would be rather expensive, as Hyunie had said. However, he'd give a little twist to his words, now knowing that he could speak Spanish, which he revealed. Though it wasn't strange for a Mexican to be speaking Spanish, Jellar had not considered testing his ability in the language at the moment.

"La comida en aquella restaurante es muy costosa. Podemos ir a un restaurante menos costoso que aquél. No tengo mucho dinero conmigo...*" he began, in slow Spanish that, though was spoken fluently, had obvious tints of non-native speaking.

If Antonio gave Jellar the chance, he could probably lead the two to an ideal place to eat. Cheap, yet authentic, and suitable for an early dinner. However, it seemed Antonio liked to make decisions, so whether or not Jellar got that chance was questionable. Satisfied with his Spanish speaking, Jellar decided not to go back to it was it would make Hyunie feel left out. Glancing back at the girl, he saw her head down again, apparently as a result of speaking her opinions.

'What kind of childhood did she have?' Jellar thought, wondering where her shyness came from. It usually was not from the genes, but from the raising. He'd have to ask her about it later.




*"The food in that restaurant is very expensive. We could go to a restaurant less expensive than that one. I don't have that much money with me."

[jdmthe1st]

(OOC: I didnt know I just assumed Cantonese was more slang in usage of words than mandarin. By the way I dont speak spanish so Im using a translator and I know what you said.)

Antonio responds to Jeller in shock since he didnt know he spoke his native language. However he was worried that Hyunie would not understand what he would say so he kept the chatter to a minimum. He said to Jeller:

"Usted habla español muy bien Jeller. Si usted se puso la mente que yo siempre podría pagar por tener nuestras comidas allí. Obtengo dos cheques de pago de cada lugar que trabajo en. Yo me puse quiero sonar grosero. Pero viajo 6-7 grande una semana después de que mi tío saque el 20-30 por ciento y wouldnt es un problema si usted y Hyunie quiso comer allí. Pero si usted se siente su demasiado podemos ir en otra parte. Yo me puse quiero hacer las decisiones porque eso no cómo yo me hago amigos. Yo me hago amigos basado en es leal, la confianza de edificio y creer en la tradición. "

Antonio turned his attention to Hyunie and said "Sorry I repond (respond) betur (better) in my native langag (language). I didnt want to ruin fun for all of us."



(Basically Antonio said: You speak spanish very well Jeller. If you dont mind I could always pay to have our meals there. I get two paychecks from each place I work at. I dont want to sound rude. But I get around 6-7 grand a week after my uncle takes out 20-30 percent and it wouldnt be a problem if you and Hyunie wanted to eat there. But if you feel its too much we can go somewhere else. I dont want to make decisions because thats not how I make friends. I make friends based on being loyal, building trust and believing in tradition.)

(When I translate it back it gets it wrong but what I typed in english is what it came out in spanish right there.)