Project Icarus: Journal #1

Learning and Research Process

Topic:

Japanese Home Stay Program

Passion & Stretch:

*I went on an exchange program to Japan when I was 11

*Since my trip, my family has hosted 3 different times (4 people total)

*The club extending off of JASH, Bridge Club Hawaii, has a mission statement to form a human network of global citizens, both locally and internationally, to promote peace and coexistence

*I want to learn the culture and language of students from Japan

*I want to be able to use what I learn to communicate effectively

Resources & Research:

*Staff at Japan-American Society of Hawaii (JASH)

*Former host families

*Former exchange students from Hawaii

Process & Product:

*Participate in collaborating events with JASH

*Continue to study the Japanese language in school

*Practice Japanese by keeping in contact with prior home stay students

Journal #27: Brainstorming Metaphor Poem

Mulan (the only asian Disney Princess, haha): Mulan's characteristics pretty much line up with mine. She is a brave, self-relient, and independent individual. She is an outspoken teenager that is a bit clumsy at times too. Mulan works hard, and is true to her heart (yeah, I know there's a song in the movie with this :D )

[and as a bonus, she's chinese... Yay! :D ]

T-Shirt: I think this would be an easier metaphor to film, although it took me a while to brainstorm how I am a t-shirt. T-shirts can be fun and creative, funny, or made to make a specific statement. They can show people that the person wearing it belongs to a group (and this relates to me by how I talk to people and make them feel welcome), for sports or a club. They are very common, yet they are practical and vary in many different ways to make each unique.

Brainstorm: Favorite places (Journal # 8)

Here are a list of places I enjoy going to, and listed under those places are why I like to go there:

1. My Backyard

- It is green with plants and grass, overlooking the valley below (to get into palasades)

- There is a bench-swing that just misses the direct rays of the sun, so that I can sit in the shade, while being warmed

- This place is serene and is ideal for reading a book or sleeping outside

2. Kung Kung's House

- There is always a stock of ice pops and ice cream in the freezer that Kung Kung buys especially for my cousin, brother, and me.

- Kung Kung takes pride in his backyard, there are different patterns in the grass (creative)

- there is always an "open door" for when we visit (lower pearl city)

3. Washington (state)

- smelling the sharp spring/fall air

- visiting family-friends

- going to different places every time my family travels to WA (always somewhere new to visit, and going back to places we've already been)

Transcript of Roots & Recipes Interview

Interview with Luann (Mingie) Fong

August 29, 2009

Where did you get the recipe for gao?

I got the recipe from my mom. She was the one who made it every year for Chinese new year.

Is this food a tradition in the family?

Yes, like my mom, I make a pan for each sibling, one to serve at my Chinese New Year's dinner and extras are given to other family members.

Are there any memories that were because of making or eating gao?

My mom used to make gao every new years, and after she died in 1972, my dad and I said we would do it. A couple days before Chinese New Year, I took all the ingredients out and I waited for him to start. He was waiting for me to start. We both said we thought the other person knew what to do. As the years went by we got better because of the experience.

Does it have any symbolic meaning to the chinese culture?

- red hoong jow (red dates) = good luck

- sesame seeds = big family (many children)

- stickiness = family stays ("sticks") together

- red paper wrap and/or ti leaves = prosperity (wealth)

What does gao mean to our family?

Gao is a traditional chinese food at new years time. I make a pan for each [of my] sibling, and extras to serve and share. In sticking with the Chinese tradition, my mother told us to not eat the gao until after Chinese New Year. But now we are so anxious to eat it that we don't wait.

Ingredients?

- Mochiko or Gluten Flour

- (Chinese) brown sugar

- Water

- Wesson Oil

- Sesame Seeds

- Dried red Jujube {red date} (Hoong Jow)

- (OPTIONAL) Grated coconut

- (OPTIONAL) Coconut milk

Did you ever try to add an extra ingredient that wasn't in the recipe, maybe just to try it out?

mixed grated coconut; also, any left over gao can be sliced and dipped in a raw egg and fried or just fried by itself until crispy on the outside and soft throughout.

How do you make it? (recipe)

Round steaming container (8" wide and 4" deep) OR (8" wide and 1" deep)

1 lb. box of Mochiko or Gluten Flour

Liquid: 1 lb. of Chinese brown sugar (comes in blocks)

Boil in 2 cups of water. Cool and watch for any debris before adding.

Optional: You may add grated coconut or substitue half the liquid with coconut milk

Mix above and add 1/4 cup Wesson Oil. Mix well.

Fill pan until 1/8 from the top. It will rise during steaming and shrink back when cooled.

Steam for 6 to 8 hours for the 4" deep pan OR 2 hours for the 1" deep pan.

Journal #2: Brainstorming the food

1. I am thinking about describing gau.

2. Every year I have helped my dad make gau. Even though it is not the traditional way (by steaming), this recipe has been passed down from my grandmother (Popo).

3. To really make this piece of writing "real", I would describe the sweet stickiness the gau leaves in your mouth, as well as the sesame seed taste that lingers, causing you to want to eat more gau.

4. I will interview my dad and my aunty (my Popo who used to make this has already passed away).

Journal #3: Plans for the Project

1. The food that is special to my family is gau. Gau is a type of sugary-sticky dessert. It is, in some ways, a chinese version of mochi. Usually it is made for special occasions such as (Chinese) New Years. Although gau is traditionally made by steaming ingredients together, my dad uses a passed down recipe to make gau by microwave.

2. To learn more about how to make gau and why it has significance to my family, I am planning to interview my dad and my aunty. I will interview both my dad and my aunty sometime between August 27th and 30th.

3. The following will be among some of the questions I will ask during my interview:

- Does it have any symbolic meaning to the chinese culture?

- What does gau mean to our family?

- What is the history of this chinese dessert?

- Where did you get the recipe for gau?

- Is this food a tradition in the family?

- How do you make it?

- What are the ingredients?

- Did your parents make gau for you when you were young?

- Ask to define certain words... (e.g. what does "gau" mean in Chinese, ect.)

- Is there any memories that were because of making or eating gau?

- Do you have your own opinions about the recipe, or even the dish itself?

- Did you ever try to add and extra ingredient that wasn't on the recipe, maybe just to try it out?