眼看着就要过年了，这将是我第一个不在国内、不在家里和家人一起过的年。临近年关仍然一点要过年的感觉都没有。在国内这个时候家家户户都应该忙起来，擦窗户贴对联了，到处都是卖烟花爆竹的。还好Libby为了让我们有过年的感受，允许我们在学校也模仿中国的习俗庆祝一下，并且给全校做一顿中国的年夜饭。过年前的一周，我和另一个中国女孩自告奋勇，在全校的大会上做PPT演讲，介绍中国过年的传统习俗。要说不紧张那是假的，毕竟也是200多双眼睛看着你，而且没有稿子，即兴用英文讲。对我来说又是第一次在全校面前作演讲，也算是迈出了很大一步。准备的时间相对仓促，PPT里包含了“年”的由来，传统的食物饺子和汤圆，还有摆设，比如对联、灯笼，还有窗花，还有一些传统活动，比如拜年、舞龙、舞狮等等。上台之前，站在舞台旁边紧张得要死，整个人捏着手里用来提示的小卡片都捏出了一手冷汗。结果上台之后，不知道是我临场应付的能力好，还是人的自然反应掩饰了自己的紧张，当校长把话筒递给我的一瞬间，整个人突然就淡定下来了。一页一页PPT讲过去都很顺利，我和那个女孩两人分工每人一张，但是到最后一张舞龙的时候，当我把话筒递给她的时候，却看到她眼里显而易见的惊慌。她小声嘀咕说她忘记准备这一张了，然后就硬着头皮说这是中国的传统活动——舞龙，然后就不知道说什么了。我想起来自己准备的时候也捎带看了两眼她的内容，就赶紧抢过话筒扯了两句中国人是龙的传人之类的，才把这段小空白掩饰了过去。虽然对于台下的人来说可能只是感觉我们的演讲里有一个小停顿，但其实对于台上的人来说，那两秒钟的空白是巨大的煎熬，大脑高速运转，同时身上还惊出一身冷汗。但好歹是应付过去了，下台以后好多人都跟我说我演讲得很好，很从容，一点都看不出来紧张。这也算是圆满完成了我的第一次演讲。
接下来就是紧张准备过年用的东西了。周六下午所有中国人聚在一起，做饭的做饭，贴对联的贴对联，忙得晕头转向、不亦乐乎。做饭，当然就是剁馅包饺子了，还有我们的新创意包汤圆。作为一个北方长大的孩子，我从来都没见过有人自己家里包汤圆的，从来都是去超市买速冻的。对联也是我们自己买了红色的纸还有毛笔、墨水，自己来写的。我们遵从的方式就是自己能觉得有趣就好啦！于是出现了各种打油诗对联，比如说“春哥曾哥犀利哥哥哥都是传说，凤姐悦姐芙蓉姐姐姐都有寂寞”这种特别具有中国现代风味的对联……大家都编的编、写的写，忙得不亦乐乎。我发现自己实在写不好毛笔字，于是就帮忙把对联贴到各个宿舍、食堂，还有图书馆的门上，然后火速杀回来插一脚做饭的活儿。毕竟，包汤圆我还是第一次见，必须凑凑这个热闹！大家商量了一下，决定做猪肉白菜馅的饺子和红豆馅的汤圆。剁馅的过程真是太high了，每个人抱着不同的蔬菜或者葱姜蒜，拿着刀可劲儿切，切得手都酸了，和绞好的猪肉和一和就好了，随便加点盐、加点酱油就可以开包了。饺子皮没擀？不用，中国超市有卖冷冻的现成饺子皮！都是机器压出来的，第一次见这么圆而且薄厚特别均匀的饺子皮。大家都凑在一起展示自己家里独特的包法，有传统的一个褶一个褶地捏过去的，也有两个手掌按一下的快捷包法，还有两头捏在一起的元宝形。不过瘾的话还可以把饺子直接捏成包子形状。当然不能没有彩头，细心的人找了几个中国的一角硬币洗干净后放到饺子里面，能吃到硬币的就会有红包拿的。
再看汤圆，我们把红豆和几大块黄油还有几大碗糖倒在一口大锅里熬汤圆的馅。我们几个没忍住的同学偷尝了一口，香甜软糯，真是太完美了！但是要说汤圆皮的制作过程倒还真是遇到不少困难。一开始厨师不清楚我们要的是糯米粉，买成了一粒一粒的整颗糯米。这可怎么办，再去买糯米粉，时间就来不及了，可是总不能自己磨吧。厨师给我们搬来了面包房里的磨粉机，把糯米倒进去，糯米份就出来了。解决了这个问题下一个问题马上又来了。有人觉得包汤圆太慢，决定滚汤圆，所以要先把红豆馅捏成球，但是馅料软软黏黏的，太难弄成球形，费了好大的工夫才弄成一小团一小团的，全部倒进弄好的糯米粉里，沾上了一点粉，然后就不行了，又要蘸水才能再沾上糯米粉，就这样来回倒腾了好几次以后，我们发现这方法滚汤圆、沾糯米粉的速度更慢了，还不如包汤圆来得快。于是又改变主意开始包汤圆。别以为包汤圆就一路轻松了，在那么多人里面，会包汤圆的就只有一个女生，其他人都不会。我们包的汤圆总是馅在皮外面，不是这儿漏，就是那儿裂，怎么看都不像是能下锅的食物。大家忙手忙脚地一边学一边自己研究，倒也是包得越来越好了。好不容易紧赶慢赶把所有的饺子和汤圆都弄了出来，最后在晚饭来临之前，还有一个重大的惊喜——我们谁都没玩过的舞龙！这是新来的中文老师的点子，从外面租了一条龙来，十来个中国学生在下面举着，跟着前面的珠球跑，在开饭前绕了整个餐厅跑了一圈。我们自然是舞不出民间那种炫目的花样来的，但是外国人从来没见过舞龙，第一次见这么神奇的东西也还是觉得很新奇好玩的。整个餐厅里除了舞龙的脚步和敲鼓的声音外，就是大家的喝彩声了。美国人也都积极学着用筷子来夹东西吃，为了吃到有硬币的饺子，大家都抢着往嘴里塞。吃完饭还有international ambassador组织的烟火，虽然不是在国内，但也觉得这顿年夜饭很是热闹。
14.The first Lunar New Year inthe U.S.
The Lunar New Year was approaching.This was my frst Chinese New Year in the US instead of China.There were no feelings of excitement for the coming New Year.In China,people start to clean their houses and put on decorations.A lot of people would be selling freworks on the street.Libby allowed us to prepare for the Chinese New Year like we were in China and cook dinner for the whole school.One week before the New Year,another Chinese girl and I did a presentation about Chinese New Year in Assembly.If I said I did not feel nervous,it would be a lie.When 200 pairs of eyes are staring at you,it is hard to keep calm.Since it was my frst time to give a presentation in Assembly,it counted as a big step.The PowerPoint included the origin of Lunar New Year,traditional food,adornment and activities.Before I got on the step,I was shaking and sweating.After I got the microphone,my natural instincts forced my nervous feeling to hide.It was going well at the beginning,but on the last page,I could see the panic in my partner’s eyes when I handed the microphone to her.She said she forgot to prepare for this slide in a really low voice.She held the microphone and said the Dragon Dance was a traditional Chinese activity and then she did not know what to say.I felt a short silence,maybe the audience could not feel it,but it was suffering for me.I recalled some details that I saw when I prepared and snatched the microphone from her hands.Several sentences passed and I fnished the presentation.A lot of people praised my presentation and said I did a good job.It was another accomplishment in my high school.(www.xing528.com)
Next,it was time for the preparation of the food.All of the Chinese students gathered together to cook and compose Chinese statements of good luck written on red paper called red couplets.The dinner was dumplings and our new idea:rice balls!As a Northern child,I had never made rice balls by myself—we bought them from the supermarket.Libby offered us some red paper and ink to write red couplets by ourselves.We had fun creating our own interesting sentences.I had several good ideas with rhymes but I could not write well with a brush so I helped by hanging them up and making dumplings.It was so fun to make the inside part of the dumpling.Everyone held different vegetables and chopped them crazily.Put together with pork and seasoning and they were good.How about the dumpling skin?No need to worry,we could buy it from the Asian market!They were all made by machines and usually round.We showed each other our different methods of making dumplings and made a lot of funny shapes.Some American students also came and learned how to make dumplings.We put some Chinese coins in some dumplings and the people who ate those dumplings would have good luck.
Then I went to check the rice balls.We put red beans,butter and sugar together to make the inside part.I tried some of them and they were so tasty!But we faced diffculty during the process of making the rice balls’skin.The chef did not realize that we wanted the sticky rice powder so he just bought grains of sticky rice instead.We did not have time to buy the powder so we had to make powder with a bread-making machine.Another problem occurred:someone said it would be better to roll the inside part in the powder to make skin.The frst step would be to make red bean balls,but they were too soft to keep a certain shape.When we put the red bean balls into the powder,they did not go together.So we had to change methods to make
rice balls in the same manner as making dumplings.It would not be much easier.Only one girl in our group knew how to make rice balls.The rest of us were all learning so the rice balls that we made did not look like something for dinner.But we were all happy about learning to make rice balls and made them better.
Before the Chinese dinner,there was a surprise that was the Chinese teacher’s idea.We played Dragon Dance in the KDU.No one of us had ever played this in China so that we could not do it very well.But none of Americans had ever seen one before so they were still amazed by the performance.At the same time,they ate all of the dumplings to fnd the dumplings with coins.What a successful activity!
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