U-M Center for Chinese Studies Kite Festival and keeping the conversation going | adventures in multicultural living

An English teacher at Huron High School used one of my columns to stimulate classroom discussion of a Maya Angelou book they were reading — which was so lively it spilled into a second day, and even more impressive, students who normally never talked in class really got into the discussion.

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Written by on October 3, 2011

‘Looking Both Ways’ at the ‘Made in China’ label and 9/11 fears

Looking into the eyes of another and engaging in their arts and learning their language are such important ways to get to know another person, another people, and to help us get past the easy labels and fears.

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Written by on September 23, 2011

Making Mooncakes the modern traditional way for the Mid-Autumn Moon Festival | Adventures in Multicultural Living

The Mid-Autumn Moon Festival is this Monday. That means mooncakes! A harvest festival, the Mid-Autumn Moon Festival is a Chinese (Zhong Qiu Jie),Vietnamese (Tet Trung Thu) and Korean (Chusok) festival that celebrates the end of the harvest, family and food. It’s sort of like Thanksgiving (without the turkey), Octoberfest(without the beer) and Sukkot (without the tent). It is always celebrated on the largest full moon of the year, the Harvest Moon.

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Written by on September 17, 2011

Ode to bento boxes and lunchboxes for back to school perfection | Adventures in Multicultural Living

In the hubbub of back to school preparations—registration, green emergency cards, forms, fees, textbooks, pictures, school supplies, backpacks, lunchboxes, scheduling extracurriculars, new lunch and snack ideas, catching up with old friends, etc., I keep ending up in the bentobox or lunchbox section of every store I enter, be it the Chinese grocery store, the Japanese bookstore, Target, Walmart, CVS, or Busch’s grocery store. I confess. I have a fetish for bento boxes. A fondness for tiffins. A weakness for Tupperwares. Don’t get me started on lunchboxes.

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Written by on September 10, 2011

Facing the terror of sports culture far outside my comfort zone in Recreational Paddling class

I do not do sports. This is not my culture. I am scared to death.
“How are you?” the teacher asks before class. “Terrified,” I answer.
…As we try to comprehend the madness unfolding in Norway…

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Written by on August 1, 2011

Adventures in Multicultural Living: Bollywood flash mob dance performance surprises Ann Arbor Summer Festival

With this Bollywood flash mob dance performance, Bollyfit creator and CEO Anuja Rajendra wanted to create a sense of connectedness in the community that we do not normally get in the bustle of our daily lives, to have a large group of people moving to the same music, dancing the same dance, touching each others’ lives for one moment.

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Written by on July 6, 2011

Adventures in Multicultural Living: End of the school year brings summer travels, moving away and international friendships

It is the end of the school year, and everyone is beginning to leave for the summer, especially many international families I know. Summer is the time to go “home” to visit parents and grandparents, time to attend weddings and family reunions, time for kids to hone their language skills while playing with cousins, time for study abroad and “Loveboat” trips for the teenagers and college-aged.

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Written by on June 29, 2011

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