An English Teacher in China: March 2013

Monday, March 18, 2013

The Lantern Festival "Shàng Yuán Jié" (上元节)

"Happy Lantern Festival!"

Happy New Year! Or as they say here in China, “xīn nián kuài lè” (新年快乐)! February 10^th is the beginning of the Lunar New Year and the start of China’s Spring Festival. On the last day of the Spring Festival, February 24^th, there is a celebration known as “shàng yuán jié” (上元节) or the day of the “Lantern Festival.” This was my first time celebrating the Lantern Festival and I wasn’t sure to what expect. My good friend, Megan, invited me to come out that evening to the People’s Park for the celebration. The park was packed full of people. There were street venders everywhere selling all sorts of glowing devices for decorating one’s person. Many people wore glittering face masks and carried glow sticks. The police had shut down the streets around the park so there was no worry about vehicular traffic. Young and old people alike were gathered in the streets shooting off fireworks into the night sky. It was quite the celebration!

Megan and I finally made our way through the crowds to the People’s Park in the center of the city. The park was crowded with visitors and for good reason. The city had set up dozens of elaborate light displays throughout the park. It reminded of me going to see a huge Christmas light display in America. There were massive lanterns filled with colored lights. Each lantern was shaped differently and representing an assortment of scenes and creatures. There were light displays shaped like flowers, one that was shaped like the story of the three little pigs, one that was shaped like a great phoenix, one that was shaped like some tradition Chinese folk heroes, and one that was even shaped like a smiley face. It was beautiful. But a picture is worth a thousand words so enjoy some of the wonderful scenes we got to experiance that evening:

It's a Giant Lantern!

Playing an Air Violin...

Welcome to the People's Park!

Flowers!

More Flowers!

It's a Glowing Garden!

One of the Three Little Pigs

Megan and me.

So many people... and Pandas...

These things are straight out of Alice in Wonderland.

Traditional Chinese Folk Heroes

"Like a bridge over troubled waters..."

A Romantic Love Scene

This Pagoda was three stories tall!

It's happy to see ya!

Thursday, March 14, 2013

Back in Langfang

My winter vacation has come to an end and now it is time to go back to school. But I'm happy to be back in Langfang. All the students have returned and once again Langfang is teaming with life. The main road outside of the campus is completely jammed with cars, bikes, buses and people as soon as the Number 8 primary school lets out. It was a little eerie during the holiday when the streets were so empty. The metal doors were closed tightly over the shop windows and bits of loose paper made their lonely dance across the streets in the hurried wind. Now, however, one can hardly walk the sidewalks due to the number of bikes parked along the curb. All the shop owners have opened their stories and the venders are back in full force. The local locksmith had to move his key stand from being the only one on the main street to now number twelve in the back of the side street next to the middle market. But he still sees plenty of business.

I’m glad that we have a key to Building 5’s side gate, again. Last term we had a key for a little while but students started making copies and the school changed the lock so the students couldn’t sneak out at night. Hopefully, that won’t happen again. The wall around the campus keeps us from easily accessing any of the buildings. Last term we had to walk, or bike, to the main gate before we could get inside. It’s not too bad but it does take fifteen minutes to make the long walk. There is also the make shift ladder behind the library that students use to climb the wall but… shh… “No one’s supposed to know about that.”

I’m back to doing Tai Chi again. I really missed not doing Tai Chi for the past two months. I’ve found that I slept better at night having worn out my body with exercise. It’s also good to be back with my Tai Chi family. All of the other members were happy to see me and they welcomed me back with a hearty "hurrah." With a smile on his face and twinkle in his eye I could tell that my shifu was also very glad to see me again. He and I talked for a bit in Chinese before beginning the lesson. He was very pleased that I’d be practicing during the holiday. Last night he drilled me for two hours learning the second set. It was tough. The movements are far more complex than the first set. I’m awfully sore this morning but I slept well last night.

This term I’ve made it my goal to really hunker down on learning Chinese. I’ve made an equal exchange deal with a few of my students so that I’ll tutor them in English for one hour and they will tutor me in Chinese for one hour. One of my tutors is a sophomore whose English skill is very low. We are actually on the same level with our respective languages. However, this couldn’t be better. The best way to learn a language is through total immersion and that’s exactly what we’ve got going. We use only pictures, gestures, and the original language to explain things with absolutely no translation. It’s a challenge but it’s a lot of fun.

It’s great being back in the classroom. I’ve got all of my students from last term, again. The students are happy to see me and the feeling is mutual. We’re starting up this second term with Oral English II. Now, I’ve been told by the college that Oral English II is whatever I went it to be so I’m trying a new experiment. My idea for the class comes from my personal experience through being both homeschooled and through my college experience as an English student. Both of these educational environments encouraged the reading of fictional novels. I can remember how every semester I would walk out of the college bookstore with 50 American and English novels. We read everything from Austin to Twain. It was a really fun education and it’s prepared me for communication far better than any textbook could. Furthermore, homeschooling has taught me that education is best done through the joy of learning. Humans have this innate characteristic were they balk at being given a command. Students don’t like to be told what to study. They do, however, like having the freedom to choose what they want to study. My homeschooling experience was one where I was allowed to choose what I wanted to study. Yes, there were certain requirements that had to be fulfilled, but nothing ever felt like a burden. It was an enjoyable education and it prepared my siblings and me to excel in college. So, I decided to employee these two methods in the classroom. I asked my students if they wanted to use a novel or the given textbook. Now, they know that the novel is going to be harder than the textbook as there are far more unknown words in an English novel than in a textbook. However, the vote was unanimous and with a hearty cheer they all choose the novel. So I chucked our textbook aside and we started to read a story.

The big theme of this term is the idea of a story. A good speaker knows how to captivate an audience and nothing woks better than a good story. My students know the basics of communication. But, they lack the ability to capture someone’s imagination in conversation. It’s my goal to teach them how to do this. For the class time I’ve chosen to read aloud Lloyd Alexander’s fantasy novel, “The Book of Three.” It is a great adventure story for young-readers. During the class I will read and act out the story. We have to stop a lot to learn many new words but it never gets to be a slog. I use the students and props to make the new vocabulary fun and entertaining. Such as yesterday's class when I pulled some students up front and demonstrated with them the fine swordsmen’s art of “thrust” and “parry.” Now, we were in want of some swords so a couple of brooms had to play the part. The students all chuckled as I failed to parry Ryan’s final thrust and the broom pierced my side. Oh, what an agonizing death that was… and the students all loved it!

Like I've said before, it's great to back in Langfang. The students are great and life is good. The weather's also gotten nicer as the warm air and sunny skies seems to be almost welcoming me back. However, I could do without the Spring dust storms. I left the windows in my apartment open the other day and went out. I just so happened that while I was out a terrible dust storm rolled through. I came back to my apartment and found a 1/8 inch of dirt and sand covering my back porch. Oh, well. I needed to clean out there anyway.

Monday, March 4, 2013

The Hunger Diaries!

"Complaints to the cook can be hazardous to your health!"

Cooking in China is always an experience. There are a number of factors that make it very different from cooking in America. The dilemmas that pop up arrange from simply being able to find food, then reading the labels (which are in Chinese), then using the limited workspace and utilities that come from a small apartment kitchen. But despite the limitations, cooking in China is a lot of fun. The key to having a good time is to be flexible and to share the trial with others. That’s why teacher Jaime and I love to invite our students and friends over for dinner. Sometimes this means that we get to cook American food for our guests and sometimes it means our guests cook Chinese food for us.

地三鲜De Sān Xiān: Sautéed Eggplant with Potatoes and Green Pepper

Making De Sān Xiān

Last term, Jamie and I got to cook several meals with our good friends Aimee and Abigail. Our first meal together was an attempt to cook a traditional Chinese dish called 地三鲜 (de sān xiān). The pronunciation in English of de sān xiān is closest to saying, “dee sun che-in.” Transliterated literally, de sān xiān means “earth three fresh,” and it gets its name from the three main ingredients: eggplant, potato, and green pepper. This is a vegetarian dish and it’s one of my favorites! Here’s what you’ll need to make yourself:

Ingredients:

· 1 eggplant

· 2 potatoes

· 2 green peppers

· chopped green onion

· chopped ginger

· chopped garlic

· white sugar

· salt

· soy sauce

· wet cornstarch (the proportion of the cornstarch and water should be 1:2)

Note: the amount of the ingredients especially the seasonings listed above can be appropriately used according to one's personal taste.

Preparation:

A. Peel and dice the washed potatoes. Place onto a plate.

B. Wash and dice the eggplant. Place onto a separate plate.

C. Discard seeds from the green peppers, wash, clean and dice as well. Place onto a plate.

Directions:

Step 1: Place a wok over high heat. Add some cooking oil and heat to 70 degrees centigrade (158 degrees Fahrenheit). Add the potato pieces and stir well until they turn golden and appear a little transparent. Remove them from the wok and reserve. Add the eggplant and fry until turn golden. Remove and reserve. Add the green pepper; stir-fry it for 2-3 seconds, remove and reserve.

Step 2: Leave some cooking oil in the wok, swirling to coat the sides. Add in the chopped green onion, ginger and garlic and stir-fry for 10 seconds until fragrant. Add the fried potato, green pepper and eggplant, and stir-fry them for 2-3 minutes.

Step 3: Add salt, white sugar, soy sauce and wet cornstarch, and stir-fry them for a further 20 seconds.

Step 4: Turn off the heat and serve.

白菜猪肉饺子Báicài Zhūròu Jiǎozi: Cabbage and Pork Dumplings

Folding and stuffing the dumplings.

On another occasion, Aimee and Abigail came over to help us cook some dumplings. Unlike the de sān xiān, our guests had never cooked dumplings before so this was a first for everyone. I love dumplings and I can eat them almost every day. Sadly, however, our dumplings were less than desirable. They were mushy and bitter. Perhaps next time we will get the recipe right. I’ve decided to add the recipe so you can try it for yourself! Maybe you’ll get right.

The first thing you’ll need to make is the wonton wrappers for the dumplings. Dumplings are essentially diced meat and vegetables inside of a bread-dough wrapper. The stuffing and wrapper are cooked all at the same time either by steaming or deep frying.

Ingredients:

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp salt

1 large egg

1/2 cup cold water

1 cup corn starch

Directions:

Step 1: Mix flour and salt in medium-sized bowl. Form a hole in the flour and pour an egg into the hole. Mix well.

Step 2: Add 1/4 water to the bowl and mix completely. Continue to add water until the dough is firm and slightly sticky. You don't need to use all the water. Mix with your hands if necessary.

Step 3: Cover dough with a damp cloth. Let sit for 20 minutes.

Step 4: Dust a clean, flat surface with corn starch. Place a golf-ball-sized amount of dough directly on the starched surface and sprinkle with corn starch.

Step 5: Roll a rolling pin across the dough to thin it until the dough becomes translucent. Spread in a rectangular shape if possible. Add more corn starch if dough becomes too sticky. Cut the thin, translucent dough into squares approximately 3 inches by 3 inches.

Step 6: Continue dusting, rolling and cutting small balls of dough until all dough has been used.

Step 7: Dust each wrapper with a thick layer of corn starch. Stack on top of each other until ready for use. Cover in plastic wrap to contain moisture.

Ingredients

· 100 wonton wrappers (3.5 inch)

· 1 34 lbs ground pork

· 1 tbsp ginger root (minced fresh)

· 4 cloves minced garlic

· 2 tbsps green onion (thinly sliced)

· 4 tbsps soy sauce

· 3 tbsps sesame oil

· 1 beaten eggs

· 5 cups cabbage (finely shredded)

Directions

Step 1: In a large bowl, combine the pork, ginger, garlic, green onion, soy sauce, sesame oil, egg and cabbage. Stir until well mixed.

Step 2: Place 1 heaping teaspoon of pork filling onto each wonton wrapper. Moisten edges with water and fold edges over to form a triangle shape. Roll edges slightly to seal in filling. Set dumplings aside on a lightly floured surface until ready to cook.

Step 3: Steam dumplings in a covered bamboo or metal steamer for about 15 to 20 minutes. Serve immediately.

American Dishes

Good food has its own tendency to bring people together and nowhere is that more true than when two cultures share their food. I love it when my students share their culture’s food with me. They have introduced me to so many new, wonderful, and delicious tastes. However, there are some tastes that they have yet to try. As an American, I know of a few culinary combinations that can delight and inspire the taste buds. It’s all thanks to my mother. My Mom’s a great cook and I’d be happy to be half the cook that she is. That’s why I’ve gleaned as much as I could from her knowledge and now I can impart her wonderful tastes on my new Chinese friends.

The first American style dish that I cooked in China was barbecue chicken, with steamed vegetables over white rice. It’s a simple dish to make. I used chicken breasts and barbecue sauce that I had been sent to me from the states. Some might call that cheating but I believe that good cooking is more about taste than time. My guests: Aimee, Abigail and teacher Jamie simply loved it!

"Oh, I'm ready... for some spaghetti!"

Chopsticks are surprisingly effective way to eat spaghetti."

The second American style dish that I cooking was spaghetti and salad. Once again, this was fairly simple. I just cooked the noodles and added spaghetti sauce from a can. The item that took the most work was the salad. Sadly I couldn’t find any fresh lettuce on this day so my salad ended up being a cabbage, tomato, carrot, and sharp cheddar cheese salad. I did find some Italian dressing that was out of this world! Once again, my guest loved it.

BBQ Pork and Veggies

Strawberries with Blueberry Sauce

The last American style dish that I cooking was a retake on the original barbecue chicken. This time I decided to use pork chops and I add in some various different spices. I also stir-fried my vegetables instead of steaming them. The vegetables were a mixture of carrots, broccoli, and potatoes. I cooked them in peanut oil and added a garlic herb seasoning to the mix. It was little oily but the taste was great. My guests brought with them fresh strawberries for desert. I cut the strawberries into quarters and then covered them in blueberry yogurt. It was fantastic! My two students and teacher Jaime all left with very happy tummies.