A Summer like Taiwan's

Japanese style steamed custard

as my post-wisdom teeth surgery food

I almost forgot I have a blog here. I have been through quite a lot this past year and felt so blessed to have a full-time job as a first-grade teacher. It was a great challenge for me and I have learned so much that it's been nothing like what I have had in the academia. Don't get me wrong; I loved the academia, which boosted my intelligence so much that I would be forever indebted to.

The weather in Provo has been acting weirdly since we almost have two or three stormy nights per week. This phenomenon reminds me of the summers in Ohio, or even those in Taiwan. Good for bike rides though. I got to enjoy it while it lasts!

I might share some pictures from my garden if anyone is interested...I wonder if I still have some visitors here. Is ANYONE here? Just curious^^

summer vacation

Back from Taiwan and two different kinds of work training, I'm finally feeling that I'm on a vacation. Although I still have some private students on hand, life pace is slowing down to the extent that I can appreciate my vacation more. I can literally stop by a lavender bush and smell it or feel the Utah dry, cool breeze brushing on my face.

The trip to Taiwan was good yet not with some regrets. There are always some people I don't get to meet and there are always things I don't get to do. During the roughly 2-week stay in Taiwan, relentless rain was our constant companion, who tracked us down almost everywhere. Not the ideal situation, I know. We ate out as often as possible to mark off the items on my restaurant list. I guess we were always in a hurry to somewhere. I thought often on my way to catch up something (a train, metro, bus, or an appointment), "there's just not enough time..."

So here I am, back to Utah and occasionally wonder about what I could have done in Taiwan a couple of weeks ago. (I know, this is life, or it's just me.) Gotta cook more at home before going back to teach.

Updates

I wonder who's still viewing my blog on a regular basis because I'M NOT! Ahhh, a sad truth. So, just like what Beautyegg has commented, I am not who I was anymore; as least when it comes to vocational choices. I've accepted an offer from a local elementary school and have become a first-grade teacher at a Chinese immersion program. Now I'm teaching part-time, having one class (25 students), and getting used to be around with so many kids for 3 hours a day, 5 days a week. Since I am not a certified teacher yet, I'm going through Alternative Route for Licensure (ARL) Program to get my license. I am grateful for this opportunity though. Meanwhile, I'm finishing my work at Timpanogos as a choir and after-school teacher. Although I'll still be a part-time worker at the new school (and be on a hourly payroll for I don't know how long), the hourly wage is much more handsome than before. Yay for me.

So the Chinese immersion program I'm teaching is a 50(Chinese)-50(English) immersion. Kids go to the English classroom in the mornings and come to my classroom in the afternoons for a definitely-not-so-relaxing afternoon learning time. Why is that? I need to teach them Math in Chinese and I sympathize with them when they just don't get it at all. I used to try to figure out Algebra 1010 by reading textbook in English and almost earned myself a migraine. I'm trying hard to be a better teacher so that I can help them to learn and absorb knowledge better and faster. My prep. time now on average is 2 hours per day since I need to make so many visual aids and come up with "songs" to teach them new vocab. in a musical context. For example, I took the tune When we get together /當我們同在一起, and filled in the new vocab. I would like them to learn. The final product looks like something like this...

(Also helped by my colleague, Nancy)

爸爸穿黑色的褲子，

黑褲子，黑褲子，

爸爸穿黑色的褲子，

和白色的上衣。

他看起來可真帥，

他看起來可真帥，

爸爸穿黑色的褲子，

和白色的上衣。

Dad wears black pants,

black pants, black pants,

Dad wears black pants,

and white top/shirt.

He looks so handsome,

He looks so handsome,

Dad wears black pants,

and white top/shirt.

The logic behind is that they have learned the vocab. about family members and they are learning colors and clothing items. Therefore, I wove all of these elements into this tune. Fun practice and children love it!

Anyway, benefited from this new job, I am GOING BACK TO TAIWAN this summer again! I only will stay for 17 days and then need to rush back for a training. To make this trip efficient, I'm planning out a "gourmet" map - must-visit restaurants and eateries in Taiwan. Please provide me some info about it if you could, thanks!!!!

p.s. Dear beautyegg, I can't read your blog anymore! Please invite me to it, thanks!

New attempt-- babysitting eli

So besides teaching choir, after-school clubs, and tutoring, I start babysitting eli. He's a 2-year-old boy of a Mom in my ward and I've gotten acquainted with her through working in the clubs together. I guess 2009-2010 is my young-children-experience year since I've been working with young children so closely.

I've never been a morning person yet I need to get up early (around 7:40 am; I know it's definitely not early enough for some people but it's surely my bottom line now) for eli. I go to his house around 8: 20 to take him from his mother's arms and watch him scream for being separated from her. A bit depressing this part, I know. Then we would watch go diego go, Ruby and Max, and umizoomi together. Yeah, how on earth I got to know these kid's shows? I feel as if I am young again-_- I'm also learning kids language via these shows; definitely a new, neat experience for me though.

I've been thinking that this must be God's way to put me through in order to learn how to deal with my own children in the future. Patience is true virtue and I've never really learned it. Maybe I'll be able to after all of these and be content with where I am at in my life.

The first post in 2010!

So things haven't changed that much. I'm still teaching choir and some other subjects at the elementary school a couple of blocks away from my house. A 5th-grade teach and I came up with a "mean" idea to put the rowdy kids there under the control--place a camera recorder there and firm the entire class! It's been working out so far yet I don't know how long it would last. Well.

This morning, when I was sleeping in and reluctant to get off bed, I suddenly had an epiphany. I'm turning 30 this year and have no children yet. "What should I do? Can I still have children when I'm 40? I'm applying for another job I'm interested in and thank goodness that it would be a full-time position. If I'm given a chance to take the job, how can I get ready to have a baby?" Such kind of inner babbling just echoed in my mind. Urrrr. One disadvantage about getting married late.

The new year has started but I'm not quite ready for it yet. I'm following the flow and hope things would go much better in the following months:) (And I'll try to visit here and contribute more often)

Happy Mid-Autumn Festival!!!

I know, I know, I have been slacking on blogging again. I can't even believe I only wrote one entry in September. So let me do a quick recap about what had happened in September...

1. I had my 29-year-old birthday. It's so awful that I am so so close to 30. Travis kept making fun of me as an old lady, or something like that. Well.

2. I finally, sort of, found a job and I did it two days before my birthday. I viewed it as an answered prayer:) It's just a part-time, which allows me to teach in after-school programs (as a para professional) for about 11 hours per week. The best part is that the elementary school is two blocks away. Yes, I can just walk over there 5 minutes before the class starts. (Unfortunately, I do need to walk over about one hour earlier to prepare for classes, ha!!) I am teaching 5th & 6th grade choir, 3rd grade reading,  2nd grade mind & motor skills, and 1st grade arts & crafts. I need to say it's a bit intimidating....I am almost covering the entire years!! I've never thought I would work at an elementary school...LOL. I am also accepted by an agent as a translator yet no job comes in yet. My wish is to save up some more money so I can have a baby before I turn 30! 

So tomorrow (or today, if you're in Chinese time) is the mid-autumn festival. I hate paying 30 bucks for not-so-fresh, high-in-preservatives moon cakes so I decided to make on my own. I learned how to make it from Sue and worked on it with my friend, Cathy, together!
                                             Hard-working Girls!
                                             Just out of the oven!
                                              A close-up shot!

Since the recipe was in grams, we needed to transfer every measurements to cups (I don't have a gram scale yet). We were worried that we would have messed up the cakes but I think we did ok. Traditionally, this kind of moon cakes would have salty duck yolks inside; we omitted it for the sake of scare resource and health concerns. These babies have refined red bean paste inside. They're very very fattening though. 

Yu-ting's Cha Shiu Pork

                                             This was the main course of our dinner tonight, 

                                             Chinese Cha Shiu pork! I used my own recipe,

                                             which stemmed from a variety of others'. The

                                             recipe (marinate) is as follows:

                                             Chinese seafood sauce (or cha shiu sauce)

                                             Honey

                                             Soy sauce

                                             Freshly-squeezed orange juice

                                             sugar

                                             Chinese five-spices powder 

                                             lightly-smashed garlic

                                             some salt & pepper

                                             red pepper flakes

                                             *Sorry! I don't use measurement that much...

                                              Chinese seafood sauce and honey's ratio is about

                                               1 to 1. Soy sauce and orange juice's ratio is about

                                              1 to 1 too, but each of them respectively is about 

                                              1/3 of honey.

                                              A bit of Chinese five-spices powder goes a long

                                              way; in this case, 1 teaspoon should be plenty.

                                              *Marinate your pork in the fridge for at least 6 

                                              hours up to one or two nights.

                                              *Preheat the oven to 400 F and roast for 30 min.

                                              first and then brush the marinate (fresh one, not

                                              from the marinate bag) on the meat in every 10

                                              min. for about 4 times. Make sure you rotate sides.

                                              *Keep some water in the roasting pan while in the 

                                              oven for easy clean-up afterwards.

                                              

                                             Beautiful glaze! It was very tender and juicy!

                                             I also wrapped the pork, some radish, romaine 

                                             lettuce, and carrot with rice paper. Serve with

                                             simple Vietnamese dipping sauce (fish sauce,

                                             minced garlic, red pepper flakes, lime juice, 

                                             sugar, and water). Enjoy!

Can't wait to be BUSIER!

So that means I'm not busy enough, not even close!

It's been almost three weeks since we got back from Taiwan. Everything in Taiwan was great and we spent a terrific time with my family & friends. Eating like crazy in Taiwan somehow satisfied my craving for Chinese food and it would hold up for a while. If you still haven't got a chance to check out our Taiwanese album on facebook, please do so! I would have put up an album here if I could have known how to... (Does anyone who uses blogger know how to put up an album here?)

I am tutoring a couple of Americans Mandarin; it just a gig type-of-thing since the number is so tiny. I would like to be a certified Mandarin teacher though. I looked it up online for some certificate programs offered in the States but only found one result at Columbus University, New York. Yeah, it's no way for me to go there and participate in that program. My dimming hope...

I am picking up Japanese again and hopefully this time I can motivate myself for longer. Maybe I should set up a goal like, passing a Japanese proficiency test, or something like that, to make sure I would have a productive study outcome. Do you guys pick up any new hobby during the summer?

Diploma Arrived!

I'm officially a receiver of Master in Music in Ethnomusicology. 

Pasta with Tomato and Almond Pesto

I haven't tried this recipe yet! You may try and tell me how you like it! Check out www.cooksillustrated.com for more cooking tips on videos! 

PASTA WITH TOMATO AND ALMOND PESTO (PESTO ALLA TRAPANESE) 

from Cook's Illustrated, July & August 2009's issue  

Serves 4 to 6  

NOTE: A half teaspoon of red wine vinegar and 1/4 teaspoon of red pepper flakes can be substituted for the pepperoncini. If you don't have a food processor, a blender may be substituted. In step 2, pulse ingredients until roughly chopped, then proceed with the recipe, reducing processing times by half.  

1/4 cup slivered almonds 

12 ounces cherry or grape tomatoes (about 2 1/2 cups) 

1/2 cup packed fresh basil leaves 

1 medium garlic clove, minced or pressed through garlic press (about 1 teaspoon) 

1 small pepperoncini (hot pepper in vinegar), stemmed, seeded, and minced (about 1/2 teaspoon) 

table salt 

pinch red pepper flakes (optional) 1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil 

1 pound pasta, pregerably linguine or spaghetti 

1 ounce Parmesan cheese, grated (about 1/2 cup), plus extra for serving  

 

1. Toast almonds in small skillet over medium heat, stirring frequently, until pale golden and fragrant, 2 to 4 minutes. Cool almonds to room temperature. 

2. Process cooled almonds, tomatoes, basil, garlic, pepperoncini, 1 teaspoon salt, and red pepper flakes (if using) in food processor until smooth, about 1 minute. Scrape down sides of bowl with rubber spatula. With machine running, slowly drizzle in oil, about 30 seconds. 

3. Meanwhile, bring 4 quarts water to boil in large pot. Add pasta and 1 tablespoon salt and cook until al dente. Reserve 1/2 cup cooking water; drain pasta and transfer back to cooking pot. 

4. Add pesto and 1/2 cup parmesan to cooked pasta, adjusting consistency with reserved pasta cooking water so that pesto coats pasta. Serve immediately, passing Parmesan separately.

I'm Back!

I was dreaming about updating my trip while staying in Taiwan and it didn't work out! I was as tired as I could possibly be and got dozed off before hitting the sack everyday. Well, now I am back! I was a little sad on the plane home and upset about the fact that I was coming back to U.S.A. (This means I need to say goodbye to awesome Taiwanese food and deal with the reality-paying bills, finding jobs and stuff). But it feels good and right to be home in Provo. After being washed by the heat and humidity in Taiwan, Provo's weather is like heavenly. I've heard that it would reach 100 degree soon around Friday but well...At least now I feel good without AC on.

So I will try to update and upload pictures from this trip ASAP. I probably will put up pictures on facebook first since it's the easiest way for me. That's for now, ciao!  

A Story.

Today, my cell's alarm went off at 8:00 in the morning. I struggled to get off the bed and I needed to be responsible to wake Trav too. After some fumbling around the house, both of us jumped into the car and left for Salt Lake City. The trip to the SLC USCIS office would lift the burden off my shoulder since I had not received my temp. green card at this moment. Well, I was supposed to receive the card about 3 weeks ago according to the welcome notice sent from USCIS. 

(Anyway, we really couldn't do much about other individual's timetable. In the past several weeks, I checked my mail box twice a day, anticipating THE card. NOPE. NOTHING.) 

So here we go. We had a quite pleasant 45-minute drive to the office and we were even 5 minutes early. When it came to our turn, we explained about our situation and requested to get my passport stamped with a special visa. I told the officer that I'm flying out on this Wednesday morning and I can't afford to wait on the (supposed-to-be-in-my-mail-box-a-million-years-ago) green card. After some contemplation, he stamped my passport and promised me that the card would arrive before the end of my trip. 

(And yes, this was my second time at the office for the same matter. I went there about two weeks ago to request the same thing but the officer of that day told me to wait for it. Why couldn't they just stamp my passport in the first time? Now it's 2.60 something per gallon!) 

Thus we brought back the stamped passport. As we pulled in the drive way, I went up to check our mail box. To my surprise, the mail box was filled with quite a pile; grocery Ads, a package from Gail (thanks to her sweetness to send me the program of BGSU's commencement), and, a mysterious envelope...I pinched and pressed the envelope, hoping to figure out what's inside, then my figure sensed an outline of a credit-card size square. 

Urrrrrrah. NO WAY. Was this it? I tore it open and spotted the trademark of USCIS. Men! Why? Why it came right after my appointment? Only 2 hours apart! AHHHHhhhhhhhHHHH!!!

So, this is the story of the day. I'm going back to pack now.

 

5 More Days to Go!

Ha! Can't wait! This morning when I woke up, I took a couple of minutes just laying in bed and imagining the moment when we arrive at the Taipei airport. My Mom has promised that my family will show up and pick us up from the airport. So the airport scene would be the first encounter of Travis and my family. How fun! (Sorry, If this is not the BEST attitude I should have...I know that Travis is pretty nervous about it...)

I think I will start packing today and I'm planning on taking only two luggage with us plus two items of carry-ons. I hope the airlines haven't launched the regulation to charge for carry-ons. By the way, by any chance if anyone knows  whether I am allowed to bring a 2-oz. sanitizer (flammable) on board? I need that to fight against the swine flu germs! 

I still have some errands to run before departure, such as getting gifts for my family! What would you get as a gift for your friends outside of the States? I have few ideas in mind but I would like to hear your say! (Besides, my family might be reading this blog and I don't want to spoiled the surprise by revealing my options!)  

....................................................................................................................................................................

So Trav and I went to the Manti Pageant last night. The turnout of the crowd was pretty good concerning it was a weeknight. I was comparing the Manti one with the Nauvoo one and found the Manti one is more narrative-savvy whereas the Nauvoo one focuses more on performantive elements. I actually like Nauvoo Pageant better since it focuses only on the Saints' history in the Nauvoo period instead of attempting to encompass the entire story of LDS's migration (from New York to Utah) and the brief life of J. Smith, which the Manti pageant just did. Or maybe I'm just biased; I've always loved Nauvoo temple and the area, haha! One regret I have is that I didn't get married in Nauvoo temple but well, every temple is the Lord's house...

The Manti pageant lasted approximately 1 hour and 50 minutes. Afterwards, we took US-89 S. (about 15 miles south) to Gunnison and from there merged onto I-15 north to Provo. We were told to do so to avoid north traffic. Well, it still took us about 1 hour and 40 min. to get home. I just list this experience for the future references if somebody lives north wants to travel down to Manti to see the Pageant.     

What's Cooking?

Only 15 more days to go and then I won't need to cook for 3 weeks! How exciting! Although I love making food, cooker's block would appear from time to time. These two dishes show my attempt to be a quasi-vegetarian!

Grilled Veggies 

Dressing: minced garlic, lemon juice, balsamic vinegar, extra virgin olive oil, and salt & pepper to taste.

Assorted vegetables, such as zucchini, summer squash, red & yellow bell peppers, tomato, egg plant, and red onion.

Fresh mozzarella cheese, sliced

Brush the dressing onto veggies before grilling. Drizzle some more dressing onto the plate and garnish with mozzarella cheese and torn basil leaves before serving. 

Simple Garlic Lemon Pasta

minced garlic, olive oil, lemon juice, mixed Italian spices, thin-sliced veggies (zucchini, red & yellow pepper, carrot, and onion), and shrimp

 

Trav's Birthday!!

Happy birthday, Travis! Trav's birthday was last Friday and I made a cake for him. This cake embodied my love for him straight out of the BOX!! (I know, I will try to make it from scratch next time.) To make the cake a bit more special, I blended cool whip, lemon juice & zest, and canned tropical fruit as stuffing, sandwiched by two layers of cake.   

The cake! He was turning 26! I used edible pink gel to garnish the cake. The color pink caters to my personal taste instead of his, oops! 

Do you notice that? Yes, these candles sparkle!! I got them from a dollar store. It's like miniature fireworks on a cake! 

The birthday boy! I surprised him with the cake right after he got off work!

Ah.

(Ok, I know the head title is bizarre but I am kind of speechless now so please bare with me...)

So, I got a callback from Nu Skin about a couple of days ago and I went for an interview today. I didn't think I totally bombed the interview (yeah, I made some mistakes in English grammar but that just a typical me) but I am almost 100% sure that I won't get the job. Because I told them that I will be leaving for Taiwan right after the orientation & training program for new employees, they replied that they USUALLY don't allow employees to be on leave for more than two weeks not even mention that it will be right on the first week of my employment. DARN IT! (I wasn't going to be that honest but I was required to fill out some forms before the interview; my conscience was evoked during the filing process...) 

Well, I guess that means that I just need to focus on planning out my trip now! Three more weeks to go and then I will be gone! 

I will battle with prospective employers after I get back from Taiwan. If you know anyone is hiring and you think I'm made for that particular job, please let me know!!! I will be available after July 15th!

Be Strong

So my father-in-law is doing much much better now! We're all very happy about his progress and glad to see that he can smile, eat, and joke around again! He's scheduled to go home either tomorrow or the day after tomorrow. One of his friends who visited him yesterday also had a bypass (triple) about 8 years ago and now in his 80's is still up and going. I hope my father-in-law will be like that too! It's just so much fun to have him around. 

The sad news is that I've received a bill from my insurance company today, which requests me to pay off the 500-dollar ultrasound bills. I thought my insurance would cover this cost completely and apparently I was totally wrong. A crappy student insurance coverage can't be stretched THAT far. One of my friends told me that I can negotiate with the hospital with a payment plan and I think I'm gonna give it a shot. And this incident also compels me to look for job again. Thus, I've filled out another two job applications this afternoon. I hope someone out  there would give me a chance for interview regardless of the fact that I am going to be out of town for 3 weeks in June! This entire fiscal situation turns me off so much that I'm not as excited about the trip to Taiwan as before. Sorry to everyone who reads my blog for not spreading more good tidings! 

So, I can only hold onto the hope that more good things will come, eventually. 

Slacking...

I admit that I've been slacking on blogging these days. Well, I just realize that life itself could be boring sometimes or get stuck in a rut. My life is like that now. I've also been occupied with my father-in-law's situation; he just had an open-heart surgery and I don't know when I would get a chance to visit with him. I just hope that everything will go well and he'll recover from it without any complications. Prayers are indeed appreciated. 

One-tooth-less Woman

I'm eating yogurt with a butter knife because the teaspoon I have is too big to fit into my barely-opened mouth. 

The end result of my gum infection is loosing my wisdom tooth on the bottom right jaw. I am so grateful that my dentist didn't pull all of three off. He said my upper right one would never grow out and my bottom left one doesn't seem to be a trouble maker now. Anyhow, It was quite a shock when my dentist asked me right in the middle of the appointment for considering the surgery. By the way, we were only charged 157.50 dollars for the surgery. The place is Utah Valley Urgent Dental Care. 

I barely felt the laughing gas in the operation but the anesthetic definitely numbed quarter of my face till now. 

Well, it's time for me to take medication now. I will keep you guys posted about my journey of recovery.

Anything Wrong with Foreign People?

This sunny yet windy afternoon, on my way home from Provo library, I was passing through three teenaged boys practicing their skateboarding skills. One of them was on the phone, conversing with tons of swearing words. One of them caught a perfect timing-when I was walking by his shoulder, just about two inches away- and muttered, " I hate foreign people."

That was actually the first time of my presence in the States to hear such an obvious, unreserved hatred and I was stunned without either showing my emotions or changing my walking pace. Now as I think about it, I'm amazed that this experience donesn't happen in BG, Ohio, a small college town, but in here, Provo, with a far more variety of races and ethnicities populated. I can't help but wonder what kind of experience or education the boy has received to help shape this kind of revulsion and disrespect for so-called "foreign people."

I was mad right after hearing the comment and snapped back in my mind by thinking *beep* (It's just rated-PG, but I feel bad to show it...) Then I feel bad for them. Life without Gospel is probably like that without light. It's really hard to keep things in right perspectives without the guidance of God. Would they ever know they're supposed to love everyone just like what Jesus does? The scriptures say pray for your enemies so I've decided to pray for their welfare tonight.