Updated on June 1, 2011
Toy time
As a teacher, sometimes you carry more things to class than you would for a weekend getaway.
Last week the load included my laptop, speakers, 23 student journals, handouts, power strip, water bottle…and these guys…
Because the week before the biggest exam of their college career, all students really need to do is play with toys.
I’m serious! Look how happy they are:
OK, so the toys also had educational value. The lesson last week was focused on expanding our students’ arsenal of adjectives. Because if I read colorful or lovely one more time in my students’ writing, I may just have a mental breakdown. There is simply nothing better than a bunch of baby toys for teaching sensory adjectives. Just think of the possibilities: striped, spotted, silky, fuzzy, squeaky, jingling, squishy, bumpy, vibrating…the list goes on and on.
Toys are educational…”He’s squishy, and fuzzy…”
And let’s be honest, they’re just downright fun. And we could all use a little more fun in our lives.
I also carried to class objects with strong odors, so students would have opportunities to use words like rancid, pungent, and fragrant. The list included things like hand sanitizer, vanilla, Worcestershire sauce, liquid smoke, and oregano.
I made the important discovery that liquid smoke is a Chinese student’s kryptonite.
Except Sabrina. She’s impervious to the powers of the liquid smoke.
I thought about taking a class field trip to the bathrooms for a precise example of rancid, but decided I really didn’t want to assault my nostrils. Warmer weather + poor plumbing + old building = no deep breathing as you walk the halls.
Updated on June 1, 2011
Guess what arrived this week?
Finally!What once was dead now springs forth new life; the timing couldn’t be more appropriate. Blessings as you celebrate new life this weekend!
Updated on June 1, 2011
Quotes of the week
“Twilight is like High School Musical for Emo kids.” ~Robb
“‘The Graduate’ touched a lot of my root ganglion.” ~Junior student’s movie review.
“No paint, No gains” ~ As seen on a student’s t-shirt
(On a related side note: I think China is having adverse effects on my movie tastes. I must confess that I have thoroughly enjoyed watching the High School Musical series and Twilight repeatedly. I have quite unabashedly become a sucker for sappy romances. There may be need for an intervention…very soon.)
Updated on June 1, 2011
Spring cleaning gone terribly wrong
There were three main reasons I chose to move into a new apartment this year. #1: A bigger kitchen (not having to move my fridge every time I want to get into my freezer is a wonderful perk). #2: Afternoon sunlight; I can’t get enough natural light. #3: Beautiful, large trees outside my window. There is nothing better than laying on my bed watching leaves on big old trees sway in the wind. Granted, there are only leaves on the trees for a small fraction of the time I’m here. But when they’re there, it’s breath-taking. When they’re not, I still enjoy the experience and hardiness communicated by a grove of old trees. Consequently, I was crushed when I looked out my window Saturday and saw this:
I don’t know who is doing this to my trees…but I have photographic evidence of the culprits.
Seriously, how many men does it take to chop down/up a tree? I’m thinking the guy smoking is indispensable to this operation.
Just when you think they might stop…out come the ropes and the saw again.
Doesn’t it make your heart hurt?
Here’s the remnant. Some of them had branches chopped off when the doomed trees got caught in them. Don’t they look lonely now? However, at least a few trees survived…for now…fingers crossed…
Updated on June 1, 2011
New loves
Having my grad work load greatly reduced this semester has freed up time to pursue other hobbies, in particular, cooking. I’ve been spending a lot more time in the kitchen, and have been loving every minute! Here are some of my new favorites dishes.
Mound of Mini-muffins
This recipe for banana chocolate chip muffins is excellent. I make up a mound of muffins almost every week for student movie nights. The muffins are perfect for students–a little bit sweet, but not too sweet for their tastes. I stopped making cookies for students after the “add less sugar incident“. Butter is too precious to waste on those who don’t appreciate the final product! (Sidenote: yes, that is a large Ohio State popcorn bowl in the background. The Wus found that and gave it to me for Christmas. I think secretly they wish they were Ohio State fans instead of Michigan fans.)
Homemade Granola & yogurt
After four years in China, I’ve finally found a breakfast I love that is quick, easy, and healthy. I’ve been making up batches of granola (sorry…no recipe, I just kind of throw stuff in combining many recipes. One hint though, mashed bananas and honey can be used instead of oil for a healthier granola). In the mornings I mix that with yogurt and fresh strawberries. It’s a perfect start to the day!
Pasta with zucchini & grape tomatoes
People, this dish is divine. I found this recipe about two weeks ago and have made it three times since then. For those of you who may shrink back at the mention of zucchini, trust me. I used to turn my nose up at the slimy vegetable (just ask my mother). However, I have grown to love it in certain dishes. In this dish it is simply incredible. There were many adjustments I made to the recipe: there’s no cream here (let’s be honest, this is probably a good thing) so I substituted milk, I used chicken broth (hot water + chicken bouillon) instead of wine, and I had to settle for dried herbs instead of fresh. With all of those changes, you’d think the final product would take a hit, but the taste is out of this world. Do yourself a favor and make it today!
Focaccia Bread
The title of this recipe is “the easiest homemade bread”, and after making a variety of yeast breads, this truly is the easiest and quickest I’ve ever made. It quite possibly might also be the best as well. Easy and scrumptious? What more can you ask for! I followed the recipe pretty closely, except I left out the olives (can’t get them here and don’t want to get them here) and I bumped up the amount of garlic. Garlic is ridiculously cheap here (we’re talking about ten heads for 25 cents), and I honestly don’t think I’ve ever tasted something and said, “ooooh, too much garlic”. But those of you who don’t have such a strong love affair with garlic may want to keep it at one clove. You can serve this as a side for the pasta dish (it’s great with a little olive oil & parmesan to dip in). With the left-overs (haha…good luck having left-overs), you can make up something like this:
This one is straight from my mind and combines some of my favorite things. I marinated pounded, cut chicken breasts in a tomato & basil marinade made by McCormick for a few hours. While I sauteed up the chicken, I made a concetrated pesto sauce. Since there is apparently no fresh basil to be found in the country of China, I made this from a mix, just adding less water and oil to form more of a concentrated baste. I brushed that on both sides of the focaccia (sliced in half). One side got topped with the chicken, sliced tomato, grated mozzarella, and parmesan. I also sprinkled some parmesan on the other half because I live under the assumption that one can never have too much parmesan cheese. Then you just broil the sandwich at a high temperature for a few minutes, until the cheese turns just a little brown. Then prepare yourself for an amazing explosion of flavor in your mouth!
It’s a good thing I’ve also had more time to work-out…
Updated on June 1, 2011
All in a day’s work
On my way to class yesterday, I ran into one of my students just as she came out of the bathroom. For some reason, she felt inclined to interject that her stomach hurt and it must be bad food. I felt this information was slightly unnecessary, but at least I knew the reason in case she quickly rushed out of the room in the middle of class. We entered the classroom, and she headed to her desk while I began to set things up. A few minutes later, she approached me with her electronic dictionary grasped tightly in hand.
“I have loose bowels. Is that correct?”
I immediately struggled to suppress the pre-teen in me that wanted to giggle and smirk, and the twenty-something that wanted to look slightly shocked at the question. Composing myself, I responded. “Yes, that probably is a correct description.”
I could have left it at that. But I’m an English teacher. I consider it my duty to teach students how to correctly and appropriately communicate in English. And I sensed a teachable moment here. I didn’t want to be responsible for this student walking up to an English-speaker and announcing, “I have loose bowels.” (Confession: a pre-teen giggle just escaped as I typed that.) I mean really, when is the last time (exempting maybe those in the medical profession) you heard someone use that expression? So, I continued my lesson.
“But we would more likely use the word diarrhea to explain that problem.”
“Di..ree..”
“Diarrhea.”
“Diarrhea.”
“Yes.” But I didn’t stop there. Because we also don’t approach acquaintances and announce that we have diarrhea (Unless you live in China, where your bowels are a frequent topic of conversation among your fellow foreign compatriots. Are you disgusted? Sorry, it’s just a fact of life for us here.). “But unless you’re talking to close friends, we usually just say, ‘My stomach hurts.’ Or, ‘I’m having stomach problems.'”
“So I say, I’m having stomach problems.”
“Correct.”
“Thanks Miss Katherine!”
With a smile she returned to her desk, and I suppressed yet another chuckle at the conversation that had just transpired.
In other news: it’s still winter. I hope you read the appropriate amount of disgust into that sentence. I just washed my long underwear. For the last time. I don’t care how cold it is; I will NOT wear long underwear in April. Take that long lingering winter.
Updated on June 1, 2011
The Hot Pot Experience
One of my favorite meals in China is hot pot, especially when winter tenaciously refuses to leave the Dongbei. By the last week in March, there should be some sign of the approaching spring. However, since we’re perpetually stuck in the 30s here (we’re talking Fahrenheit here folks…not Celsius…and we’re talking HIGHS), hot pot is the perfect meal to warm you up. This past week Sarah and I headed out to her favorite hot pot restaurant, and I just happened to have my camera along. So without further ado, let me introduce you to the hot pot experience.
Step one: The sauces.
These are what I like to refer to as the “mystery sauces”; who knows what goes in them. Actually, the one on the left is not a mystery. Those are hot pepper flakes. Beware, they are very spicy! But the other two are mysteries. We can call them green goo and red goo. They’re supposed to be mixed in with the primary hot pot sauce, majiang (sesame sauce).
Sarah is brave. She adds the mystery sauces to her majiang. I’m a chicken who doesn’t like to add green slimy mystery substances to an already delightful sauce.
Step two: Wait for the water to boil.
Usually, this happens quite speedily because the helpful waitress will turn the flame up really high. On this evening, though, we had a faulty flame. Consequently, we learned first hand what the idiom “a watched pot never boils” means.
Step three: find some kind of entertainment while waiting for pot of water to boil.
For example, have your friend take a picture of you. Yes, people will stare at you and think you’re a bit silly, but let’s be honest, they’d be staring even if you weren’t taking pictures.
Step four: Add in the “stuff”
The “stuff” is entirely preferential. You can order pretty much any part of a lamb, cow, or chicken. Yes, any part. Don’t doubt me. There are more green vegetables than you ever knew existed. If you’re one of those crazy people who have a love affair with cilantro, you can order a heaping pile. Or, you can keep it simple like Sarah and I.
We began with potatoes. These take forever to cook, so they always get added first. They sink to the bottom of the pot, and serve as a nice end of the meal filler once you finally locate them thirty minutes later.
Next was some nice thinly sliced lamb. Don’t be afraid of the fat. It’s thinly sliced. So it’s like it’s not even there.
After that is my FAVORITE part of hot pot. The noodles. I would be happy with only noodles, dribbled with the majiang. Mmmmm. Yes, I love italian food. Yes, this is the closest thing I get to it in a Chinese restaurant.
Up next is the spinach. I never cared much for spinach in the States, but have an increasingly great fondness for it.
Finally, add in the tomatoes. Don’t let them sit too long. They cook very fast. Hence, at this point I ditched the camera and dug in. Are you hungry yet?
Remember to vote for your favorite flags…you have two more days to get your votes in!
Updated on March 30, 2011
HELP!! (Batch #2)
Below is the second batch of new Chinese flags to choose from. For more information, please scroll down and read the previous entry. For clarification: I would like you to tell me your three top picks for Batch #1 and your three top picks for Batch #2. I am allowed to submit three pictures from each class for the final judgment. Thanks again for your help!
Flag One
The big character is “Long”, which means dragon. The character looks like a live, flying dragon. The dragon represents China developing fast. However, no matter how fast China develops, he always keeps harmony firmly in mind. We can see in the center of the dragon is the red Chinese knot which symbolizes harmony and peace. The background, light green, means hope.
Flag Two
The blossom symbolizes our country. The center of the flower represents the Communist party. There are 34 pistil and stamen which represent the 34 provinces (including Taiwan and Hong Kong). They symbolize the harmony and unity of the country, and the blue color represents peace. The five petals symbolize the five virtues of firmness, bravery, loyalty, honesty, and kindheartedness. The olive branches show that peace safeguards the country.
Flag Three
The white background represents the country’s future; nobody knows it so we have to draw it ourselves. The red represents the hero’s blood. The circle is the sun, which means we hope the future of China is brilliant. The stripe is the Huanghe River (Yellow River), which is our mother river and stands for our history. The star represents the Communist Party.
Flag Four
The white background represents purity and the universe. In the universe there are the sun, the moon, and the stars. The sun represents China’s Party and the crescent moon represents China’s government. The big star represents the mainland, and the two smaller stars represent Taiwan and Hainan Island. Red, yellow, blue, green, and black are the colors of the flags of the world; they mean China gets along well with the whole world.
Flag Five
Red is the symbol of China and a common color when the Spring Festival is coming. The 34 stripes on the star represent the provinces. The 56 lines that make up the star’s shadow represent the 56 nationalities in China. The striped star and the lines seem like a moving star; this means China is advancing. The Chinese people are like the 56 lines that support and push forward the bright star.
Flag Six
The flower represent’s the nation’s flower, the peony. Except for the top petal, the flower looks like two butterflies, which represent a Chinese classical masterpiece–“Butterfly Love”. The red color represents the hero’s blood, and that the country is flourishing like fire. The whole flag means classical, energy, and forever flourishing.
Flag Seven
The blue sections represent the ocean on the earth. The two yellow triangles represent the continents on earth. The yellow star represents the nation of China. The olive branch represents peace. The country is surrounded by two olive branches; it is peaceful country. Furthermore, the peace of one country can maintain the peace and harmony of the whole world.
Flag Eight
The eight rectangles represent “Wu Hu Si Hai” in Chinese, which means people from all over the world. No matter where you come from, if you like China you are welcomed. The circle means people live in harmony. Black and white are opposite each other, they mean people must obey the laws and rules very strictly. Yellow represents richness; we hope we can live in a world without starvation, disaster and misery. Red represents the passion and the love of life.
Updated on March 30, 2011
HELP!! (Batch #1)
UPDATED CLARIFICATION: I would like you to tell me your three top picks for Batch #1 and your three top picks for Batch #2. I am allowed to submit three pictures from each class for the final judgment. Thanks again for your help!
As mentioned in an earlier post (The Chinese Flag), my sophomore oral students had the homework assignment of creating a new flag for China. The five best flags from all of the sophomore students will be proudly displayed in the foreign teachers’ library, and the winning creators will be treated to dinner with all of the foreign teachers. I need YOU, yes you, ALL of you to help me select the three best flags from each of my classes. These will then be entered in the final competition with the rest of the sophomores. So all of you lurkers visiting this blog, be bold, be brave, come on out and give me your opinion. I’m allowing anonymous commenting for a short while, so you don’t even have to let me know who you are. Below are the flags from my first class with a short description. In your comment, please select your three favorites. Remember, leading up to this project we studied flags of the world. Consequently, the flag should realistically fit in with the rest of the world’s flags. Thanks for your help! There will be a second batch posted later today.
Flag One
The sun is the Communist party, and the six triangles are the radiance of the sun–the worker, the farmer, the city, the village, the petty bourgeoisie, and the national bourgeoisie. They revolve around a center to unite. The willow is life in spring and represents the development of China. The color red represents the enthusiasm and hospitality of China, and the blue represents the intelligence.
Flag Two
The red represents the revolutionary martyr’s blood, the yellow five pointed star represents the Communist party, and the blue circle represents the people of the whole country. The circle surrounds the star representing the great solidarity of the people under the leading of the communist party.
Flag Three
The dragon represents the culture of China; the traditional color of the dragon is yellow. The red means joy, happiness, and good fortune. The crown means noble and dignity.
Flag Four
The golden background represents the glorious history and culture of China. The red stands for the blood of heroes, green stands for peace, blue stands for sea, and white stands for sea. The three colors form the character zhong (?) meaning many and the character ren (?) meaning people, because China has the largest population. This symbol represents that Chinese people unite together.
Flag Five
Red is for the revolutionary martyrs and for our aspiration towards the future. The gold star represents the Communist party, it is the color of the sun and Chinese people’s skin-color. Under the star is the Great Wall; the three parts represent China’s past, present, and future. It represents the wisdom and perseverance of the Chinese. The color green represents China’s respect of nature.
Flag Six
The red is for the revolution. The yellow symbolizes light, and the circle is the sun. China will bring the light. The cross represents that under God’s blessing, China will not have war anymore. The blue represents purity.
Flag Seven
The dragon represents power and China’s ancient legends. The clouds represent the clouds in the Olympic Games in Beijing. The red means strength, green means vigor, blue represents heaven and water (the origin of life), black means the earth, and yellow means justice and peace.
Flag Eight
The five diamonds stand for the traditional manners: filial piety and fraternal submission, loyalty, politeness, quality and sentiment of loyalty to friends, and trust. The suns stands for China and means our great country is improving. The sea means China has a great future and will become stronger.
Flag Nine
The red symbolizes the revolutionary martyr’s blood. The five-pointed star stands for the Communist Party and also stands for the “5” of China’s 56 different nations. The six blue stripes stand for the “6” of the 56 nations. The half circle looks like the letter C, and it stands for China. Chinaware is often white, so the “C” is white.
Updated on June 1, 2011
I survived an earthquake
And I didn’t even feel it. While I’m extremely grateful that the earthquake was not that strong, I must admit I’m a little disappointed I didn’t even notice it. For those of you familiar with geography, I’m sure you’re scratching your head in amazement that we had an earthquake up here in the northeast of China. Yes, they are very unlikely. But I assure you, it really happened. It was only 4.3, but it was enough to send ripples of worries throughout the campus community. I had a class of students over last night to watch a movie; one of them showed up with an extra set of clothes packed in her purse–just in case. I was at the orphanage at the time of the quake, too consumed with this cuteness to notice.
On another note, Jennifer is much braver than me.
She gets her eyebrows done at the local marketplace. The market is like Walmart on crack. We’re talking eight floors of everything your heart might desire, all available at whatever price you can successfully bargain it down to. Here’s Sarah’s bargaining game face.
Today’s shopping excursion find for me was this lamp. One of my living room lamps recently blew a fuse and hasn’t worked since. I could try and figure out how to get it fixed…but sometimes things are just more hassle than it’s really worth. My most recent attempt at getting something electronic fixed was a five month long ordeal that ended with the item still broken. So I decided to replace the broken lamp with this one that I picked up for about $10. If you’ve shopped for lamps in China, you know it’s quite the find. There are no tassles. No shiny bobbles. No reflective flare. Compared to the other options, it was quite dull.
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