Sometimes as foreign students, we get asked to do random things which, possibly because of the language barrier, we unwittingly agree to do. About two weeks ago, I got asked by our school administrators to learn to play and sing a song in Chinese to represent our school of international students. I agreed.
Later, I found out that the song needed to be recorded and shot on video, and that the video would be submitted to some national talent competition for schools with international students, showing off these students' embrace and learning of Chinese culture. Some show off their Chinese calligraphy. Others read Chinese poetry. Some perform classical Beijing opera.
But for me and one of my classmates here at the school... we decided we would cover a popular song by Jay Chou. Jay Chou, if you don't know, is super-popular in China. He recently also starred as Kato in The Green Hornet.
So here it is. 简单爱 ("Simple Love") by Jay Chou:
If you're interested in the lyrics translated, the Jay Chou Lyrics Blog has them. Personally, I think the lyrics seem a bit strange when translated into English. ("I want to watch baseball with you" and "I want to take you to my grandma's house" for some reason sound perfectly fine in Chinese, but sound kind of hokey in English)
Oh yeah, if our competition entry gets selected for the next round, we apparently get to perform live on some stage in Beijing. I'll keep you posted, but I think it's highly unlikely.
Monday, June 27, 2011
Friday, June 17, 2011
Rules I Have Heard for Pregnant Women
Now that I am showing more, I have gotten a lot of advice and Chinese words of wisdom for pregnant women.
Here are some clips of this "factual" advice I have gotten from Chinese people. Some of them make some sense, some of them are a little ... different.
-If you crave sour, you are having a boy, if you crave spicy you are having a girl.
-If your stomach is pointier, then you are having a boy. (Funny, I am craving spicy and according to Chinese people, my stomach is pointy.)
-Do not wear tight clothes, it hurts the baby. This includes stretchy shirts.
-Do not go down the stairs with your cell phone.
- No eating, drinking anything cold. This esp. means ice cream.
- Do not cross your legs.
- Do not wear your contact lenses.
- If you drink a lot of milk, your child will have white skin.
- If you eat things with black sesame or seaweed, your child will have very black hair (which is considered good).
- The best way to get calcium is to eat lamb soup. I asked, "how about drink milk?" The response was, "if you are not allergic to it, then milk won't hurt."
- Do not play ping pong, volleyball, bike, etc. The only thing you can do is walk.
- Eat winter melon and eggs, it is good for the body.
What funny pregnant advice/words of wisdom have you heard before?
Here are some clips of this "factual" advice I have gotten from Chinese people. Some of them make some sense, some of them are a little ... different.
-If you crave sour, you are having a boy, if you crave spicy you are having a girl.
-If your stomach is pointier, then you are having a boy. (Funny, I am craving spicy and according to Chinese people, my stomach is pointy.)
-Do not wear tight clothes, it hurts the baby. This includes stretchy shirts.
-Do not go down the stairs with your cell phone.
- No eating, drinking anything cold. This esp. means ice cream.
- Do not cross your legs.
- Do not wear your contact lenses.
- If you drink a lot of milk, your child will have white skin.
- If you eat things with black sesame or seaweed, your child will have very black hair (which is considered good).
- The best way to get calcium is to eat lamb soup. I asked, "how about drink milk?" The response was, "if you are not allergic to it, then milk won't hurt."
- Do not play ping pong, volleyball, bike, etc. The only thing you can do is walk.
- Eat winter melon and eggs, it is good for the body.
What funny pregnant advice/words of wisdom have you heard before?
Wednesday, June 15, 2011
"Gnocchi" and Cauliflower
This was another set of recipe I gave my friend who was cooking for his pregnant wife. We tried out the gnocchi recipe together and served it to his wife and Alvin. I have to confess it is only ok, I liked it when I was first learning how to cook western food. It is a recipe I got from Rachel Ray and tweaked it. If you guys try out any of the recipes, let me know how it goes.
Main Menu: “Gnocchi”
Side: Roasted cauliflower
Serves 4
Ingredients:
8 slices day old bread, chopped into bite size pieces
3 T olive oil
2 T butter, cut into pieces
4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 cups tomato sauce
2 small plum tomatoes, seeded and chopped
1 teaspoon dried basil
2 cups shredded mozzarella
Directions:
1) Heat a large skillet over medium heat.
2) Add olive oil, butter, and garlic to the skillet.
3) Add bread and season with a little salt and pepper.
4) Toss and cook the bread until brown, feels a little hard.
5) Add tomato sauce and the fresh tomatoes.
6) Turn to coat and cook for 2 minutes.
7) Top with basil and cheese. Turn off heat.
8) Serve on skillet, no need to transfer onto a plate.
Roasted cauliflower
Serves 2
Ingredients:
½ of a cauliflower, cut in ½ inch slices
2 T of olive oil
Directions:
1) Put cauliflower in oven safe pan; lay each piece flat on the pan without covering over other pieces.
2) Preheat oven to 200 C (400 F).
3) Drizzle olive oil over the cauliflower
4) Sprinkle a little bit of salt and pepper over chicken
5) Bake for 45 minutes, or until tender. Halfway through the baking, mix up the cauliflower to prevent burning.
Main Menu: “Gnocchi”
Side: Roasted cauliflower
Serves 4
Ingredients:
8 slices day old bread, chopped into bite size pieces
3 T olive oil
2 T butter, cut into pieces
4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 cups tomato sauce
2 small plum tomatoes, seeded and chopped
1 teaspoon dried basil
2 cups shredded mozzarella
Directions:
1) Heat a large skillet over medium heat.
2) Add olive oil, butter, and garlic to the skillet.
3) Add bread and season with a little salt and pepper.
4) Toss and cook the bread until brown, feels a little hard.
5) Add tomato sauce and the fresh tomatoes.
6) Turn to coat and cook for 2 minutes.
7) Top with basil and cheese. Turn off heat.
8) Serve on skillet, no need to transfer onto a plate.
Roasted cauliflower
Serves 2
Ingredients:
½ of a cauliflower, cut in ½ inch slices
2 T of olive oil
Directions:
1) Put cauliflower in oven safe pan; lay each piece flat on the pan without covering over other pieces.
2) Preheat oven to 200 C (400 F).
3) Drizzle olive oil over the cauliflower
4) Sprinkle a little bit of salt and pepper over chicken
5) Bake for 45 minutes, or until tender. Halfway through the baking, mix up the cauliflower to prevent burning.
Monday, June 13, 2011
Alvin, Ping Pong Silver Medalist
At our international school, we had an official school ping pong tournament. It was a singles tournament separated by gender and only international students could compete. There was about 20 guys entered, and 4 girls entered.
Alvin placed second in the tournament, but we laugh about it because he was clearly not deserving of such a high prize. It was that he was in a easier bracket. The winner deserved the prize because by himself he eliminated all the best players in the tournament.
Alvin first played against a guy from Kyrgyzstan. Alvin won 2 rounds to 0. Next Alvin played against another guy from Kyrgyzstan. He won, 2-1. In round 3, Alvin played against the lone Algerian representative. This guy was very good and Alvin barely squeaked by winning 2-1. In the finals, Alvin was playing against the representative from Mexico. Alvin lost 0-2. In round two against the guy, Alvin didn't even score any points. The guy he played against was very zen like; he didn't even break a sweat while playing.
Therefore, the final results by country for the men:
3rd place: Sudan
2nd place: USA
1st place: Mexico
Final results for women:
3rd place: Kyrgyzstan
2nd place: USA
1st place: Holland
Every participant received a set of markers. 1st place winners received a set with 24 markers, second and third place winners received a set with 18 markers, and all other participants got a set with 12 markers. The next day, I was talking with the Korean girl who received fourth place and she sadly commented, "did your husband get 18 markers, I only got 12." Oh, sorry about that.
Here is Alvin with his prize:
Alvin placed second in the tournament, but we laugh about it because he was clearly not deserving of such a high prize. It was that he was in a easier bracket. The winner deserved the prize because by himself he eliminated all the best players in the tournament.
Alvin first played against a guy from Kyrgyzstan. Alvin won 2 rounds to 0. Next Alvin played against another guy from Kyrgyzstan. He won, 2-1. In round 3, Alvin played against the lone Algerian representative. This guy was very good and Alvin barely squeaked by winning 2-1. In the finals, Alvin was playing against the representative from Mexico. Alvin lost 0-2. In round two against the guy, Alvin didn't even score any points. The guy he played against was very zen like; he didn't even break a sweat while playing.
Therefore, the final results by country for the men:
3rd place: Sudan
2nd place: USA
1st place: Mexico
Final results for women:
3rd place: Kyrgyzstan
2nd place: USA
1st place: Holland
Every participant received a set of markers. 1st place winners received a set with 24 markers, second and third place winners received a set with 18 markers, and all other participants got a set with 12 markers. The next day, I was talking with the Korean girl who received fourth place and she sadly commented, "did your husband get 18 markers, I only got 12." Oh, sorry about that.
Here is Alvin with his prize:
Saturday, June 11, 2011
Farmers for a Day
Well, actually we were only farmers for an hour, and then we got kicked off the job.
Last week, Alvin and I stayed with our friend at a nearby country village. It is about 6 hours away from our house, up near the mountains. We stayed at our friend's parent's house. In this small village, all her neighbors were here relatives.
The community grows goji berries. They have acres of just goji berry trees. During our stay, our friend took us to help out in their field pruning the trees. Unfortunately, after an hour, her mom told us that our services were no longer needed.
The people in her village were very hospitable. One morning, we were invited to and had three lunches at different people's homes. The food was very good, the scenery beautiful, and we learned a lot about Chinese villages.
Last week, Alvin and I stayed with our friend at a nearby country village. It is about 6 hours away from our house, up near the mountains. We stayed at our friend's parent's house. In this small village, all her neighbors were here relatives.
The community grows goji berries. They have acres of just goji berry trees. During our stay, our friend took us to help out in their field pruning the trees. Unfortunately, after an hour, her mom told us that our services were no longer needed.
The people in her village were very hospitable. One morning, we were invited to and had three lunches at different people's homes. The food was very good, the scenery beautiful, and we learned a lot about Chinese villages.
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