This morning class was to be with the English
club members. We were told it would be voluntary attendance and it would
be a surprise as to who would come. Last Monday we had eight students. Today
we had two students.
Thelma and Phyllis worked with them doing
individual reading of some simple children’s books which we brought, in English,
of course. This went on until about 10:15 a.m. Then after a break, the group
shifted gears. From then until 11 a.m. the group worked with crafts and
conversational English. Phyllis did paper folding or origami and
ended up teaching knot tying for buttons on clothes. Thelma then led the group
in making soda cap leis with the objective of conservation and keeping the landfill
as empty as possible. The two girls embraced the idea of the ribbon soda
cap leis with enthusiasm.
Shortly after 11 a.m. we left for Lily’s apartment
via an auto ride in Jules’s car. There Lily, her mother, another
staff person, and a student were making dumplings. Phyllis jumped in to
help. They made literally hundreds for lunch. When they were cooked, we
sat down to a lunch of dumplings, string beans, lotus roods, and noodles. There
were two kinds of dumplings: vegetable and pork. The meal was very good, but
for us the dipping sauce of vinegar, garlic, ginger, and soy sauce was a little
rough on our “southern Chinese” palates. The dumplings tasted good without
the sauce for us.
We spent the rest of time with them, chatting, singing,
and sharing with them Mac Nut covered chocolate candy which we brought
from home. We returned to the hotel via the school ar.
Entry submitted by: Dick
Message of the Day: As I was tucking my
son in bed one night I said “Try, I love you! He replied “I do, too.” I
teasingly said “No, you don’t?” He said “Yes, Mommy, I do.” “How do you know
it’s love?” I asked. He responded “I’m not really sure what love is, but
you make my heart smile!” I then realized, without a doubt, he understood love
better than most adults.