Connor is back from Japan! And he brought home gifts for everyone! He buys really wonderful souvenirs, by the way.
Look at what he brought home for me.
He knows I love puzzles and notebooks.
And Starbucks mugs.
I love my new mug!
And Pokemon and stickers.
I put my new Raichu sticker on my laptop.
Goofy is right at home with his good pal Mickey in my classroom.
I found two beautiful books based on Chinese mythology, and they might be my new favorite books.
I have taught the story of Houyi and the ten suns to kids in China over and over and over, as well as the story of Chang'e and the Mid-Autumn Festival, but this version was amazing. The version I knew was hardly more than the basic beginning, middle, and end of the story.
Here is the opening of the first book:
"There are many legends about my mother. Some say she betrayed her husband, a great mortal warrior, stealing his Elixir of Immortality to become a goddess. Others depict her as an innocent victim who swallowed the elixir while trying to save it from thieves. Whichever story you believe, my mother, Chang'e, became immortal. As did I."
Many of the little girls in China that I have taught prefer the version of the story where Chang'e took the elixir so that an evil sorcerer couldn't have it. She did it to save the world.
I knew that Koreans traditionally make and eat rice cake soup for the Lunar New Year, so when I saw these frozen rice cakes at Trader Joe's, I decided to buy some.
But then I didn't know how to make rice cake soup, so I didn't make it on Lunar New Year's Day.
But, after talking it over with a student I tutor, who very graciously sometimes acts as my Korean food expert, I felt more confident and decided that today was going to be the day that I made tteokguk.
(I always learn such wonderful things when I teach others.)
First, I let the rice cakes sit in cold water for 30 minutes (because they were frozen and that's what the instructions on the bag said to do).
While the rice cakes were thawing in their cold bath, I made the soup.
Here is what I used:
8 cups beef broth
4 or 5 garlic cloves, minced
2 TBSP soy sauce
2 tsp MSG
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
1 leek, thinly sliced
I let that come to a boil, and then added the rice cakes when they were ready.
It took about 7 minutes for the rice cakes to warm up and start floating.
Then I added a tsp or two of sesame oil as a finishing touch, and served the soup.
Like an American, I served the soup with bread from the bakery.
I realized after I had already started eating that Koreans would have probably served it with rice.
I'm going to have to ask about that.
In any event, it was delicious, and I would make it again.
I decided to read Tuesdays with Morrie because many of my students are currently reading it as a part of a book club.
I didn't finish Crying in H Mart last time I checked it out because I kept getting distracted by the Korean food and looking up recipes, so I got it again to maybe try and finish it.
Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Faeries is the Fantastic Strangelings book club selection for January.
I have no idea where I heard of the other book, but it looks amazing.
One of my students told me that they were reading this English novel about Korean fairy tales, so I decided to read it as well, and it was absolutely delightful.
The opening line: "I can turn invisible."
I love the Korean version of "Once upon a time..."
"Long, long ago, when tiger walked like man..."
Warning: This wonderful book made me cry a little bit at the end.
As an English tutor, I get paid to have discussions with students who are learning English as a second language. In order to facilitate these conversations, we often both read the same article before class. Then, the student can choose from a question pool to indicate what they would like to talk about in more detail.
Sometimes, the students ask for my opinion on various subjects, in order to have another example of how someone might answer these questions, or for listening practice.
Here are the answers I provided to some of these questions earlier this morning.
If you could go to the future in a time machine, when would you like to go visit? What is the reason?
I don't want to see what happens in my life, because I am afraid that I won't like it. So, I want to go far, far in the future. Maybe I will set my time machine to go visit 2222. I hope that I will find a peaceful, highly intelligent, very technologically advanced world of caring humans with cool gadgets. I would be devastated to find a desolate planet that humanity had ruined.
If you were to go back to the past, which period would you like to go to? Is there anything you want to change if you can? Why do you wish so?
I would want to visit the Regency Era in England. This time period is from about 1810 to 1820, and it is when the rich people in England had so many fancy society parties. I would want to be rich and wear beautiful dresses and go to balls, like I was in an episode of Bridgerton or a Jane Austen novel. There isn't anything I would really want to change about that time, and I would probably get tired of it after a while because it was before electricity.
As far as going back in time to change something, I think I would go back to 2016 and help stop Donald Trump from being elected President of the United States.
Oh, and while I was there, I would make sure to buy myself lots of Bitcoins.
(This next one is from a different class, with a much younger student.)
If you were to get a set of LEGOs as a gift, how would you feel?
I think getting new LEGO sets is really exciting, and building the LEGOs makes me happy because I can see the LEGOs come together to make something new. It is very satisfying.
Linda and I have had 750 classes together over the past three and a half years.
Our first class together was on August 14, 2018.
(I decided to look it up for the record.)
Happy Birthday to me from China!
Thank you, Toby! I love his drawings.
Happy Birthday to me; We ate dinner at Thrill Korean BBQ!
This makes sense if you know that I got a new job teaching English to adults in South Korea.
Nice Squid Game/Halloween Decorations
Happy Birthday to me; It's a cake and presents!
Death by Chocolate Cake / Over the Hill / Halloween Birthday
Happy Birthday to me; 41 is a prime number.
Lex finished his Africa Geography workbook, and began the Europe version.
I drew some gems to use with my VIPKID classes, and Lex offered to help me color them.
Lex drew some fantastic Pokemon pictures for art class.
Lex will be reading One Thousand and One Arabian Nights next.
Lex has begun the final section of his science text book, so I ordered the last Sassafras Science Adventure book for the boys. They have been completing one of these science books every year during the summer as part of our "summer camp" at home. I think we may start it a little early this year.
See you next week!
Today, I received a well-worn and well-traveled box from China. It was sent from Chengdu on December 17, 2020. It was shipped via land, according to the information on the box. How does that even work? I do not know. It arrived in one piece, and inside was a beautiful Christmas gift from one of my students.
I didn't know that it was coming. It was a total surprise! I don't care how late it is. I love it so much!
I looked up the story of the Nine-Colored Deer and read it online. I even found a Chinese cartoon to watch, even though I can't understand what they are saying. You can actually understand a lot of a cartoon story without understanding the words.
Now, what do I send back to China as a gift to my student and her mother? How long will it take to get there?
I'm all ready for Chinese New Year! My new VIPKID Dino has arrived from China!
My Dino collection now includes Dino, Dog Dino, Pig Dino, Rat Dino and Ox Dino.
Happy Chinese New Year!
