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　　The Mid-Autumn Festival grows nearer

　　By Geoff Lemon

　　Liu and Wang are discussing the Mid-Autumn Festival.

　　Liu:Have you bought your airtickets yet Wang?

　　Wang: No! I can’t afford to fly this year. I’ll have to travel by train again!

　　Liu:Oh no! Then you’ll be joining the great Mid-Autumn crush down at the station.

　　Wang: Yeah. You’d think that they would release the train tickets sooner, wouldn’t you?

　　Liu:I suppose so, but it’s a difficult balance — to make sure that everybody gets a chance to buy a ticket — and at the same time prevent speculators from having a “field day.”

　　Wang: Hee hee, sure, Mid-Autumn is all about celebrating the harvest, isn’t it? Even for “ticket scalpers.”

　　Liu:Well, as for me, I don’t mind paying a fair price for the tickets — just as long as I get a seat on the train.

　　Wang: Yes, it’s a long time to stand. How far to your hometown?

　　Liu:I couldn’t tell you exactly how far Wang, but the train should take about 21 hours.

　　Wang: Oh, that will be exhausting!

　　Liu:Sure, but it is pretty exciting too. You know, everybody is happy to be going to visit their parents and relatives. I really miss my mum!

　　Wang: Yeah, me too. But at least I can get to my place with only six hours on the bus.

　　Liu: Lucky dog! How about the celebrations in your home town?

　　Wang: Didn’t I tell you Wang? I come from a very small farming village. Of course we will have a lovely family celebration and have a nice feast, eat lots of moon cakes and the little kids will tear around with red lanterns. And we will spend some time under the evening sky taking in the moon’s beauty and telling stories. How about the Mid-Autumn Festival in your town?

　　Liu: It’s much the same really. It’s just a great opportunity to reunite the family. We will chat about our lives and also spend time in the outdoors.

　　Wang: Have you finished your shopping? There are some great varieties of mooncakes on sale.

　　Liu:I sure have. I know it’s a bit early but I even bought some jelly mooncakes that we can share now.

　　Wang: Terrific! Then we can have our own little feast. I found some interesting ones too. Look at this.

　　Liu:What are they? What does Haagen Daz mean?

　　Wang: You don’t know this brand? These are icecream mooncakes and Haagen Daz makes the most delicious icecream.

　　Liu: Oh, you shouldn’t spend so much.

　　Wang: Well, you’re my best friend and anyway... I know that my parents would love to try them... but I don’t think that these mooncakes would still be icecream after 20 hours on the train.

　　Liu:Hmm... since you put it like that, I think eating them right now is probably the wisest decision.