Duan Wu Jie with friends, Dragon Boat festival

Photohunt: Grapes

Mother and Father took the younger siblings to Thailand for a holiday. Mother found the grapes were very cheap and bought a lot for them to eat in the hotel.

The chamber maid was cleaning the room when Mother told her the grapes in Thailand was very nice and cheap. The chamber maid said,"I never get to eat them, it is too expensive for me."

Mother gave her a big bunch which she accepted gratefully and said she would take it home to share with her family.

Looking at this bunch of grapes I left too long in the fridge, I feel so guilty.

http://whistlestopphotohunt.blogspot.co.nz/

Dragon boat fest, with friends.

 My Jian Bin

 Showing off someone's zhung zi

 May birthday babies.

 special guest.His mum comes to our ESOL class, From Sri Lanka,

Mt Albert Baptist church Chinese fellowship.

Remembering our roots, celebrating Duan We Jie

 Twins Tony and Helen played "twin" Keyboard and Violin.

 Professional singer Coco Li  sang for us.

 Compere Lisa and Pastor Albert.

 Chinese classical music instructor Nili. with her Ruan instrument. When I was young, my dad's British boss gave us a similar instrument.

 Leo vowed us.

The Mt Albert Baptist Chinese Fellowship celebrated the Duan Wu aka dragon boat festival, with food, Zhung Zi and music

Daughter of Sarawak

It is the Gawai festival on 1st June. Mum and Dad were the first Chinese children to be born in the Upper Rejang basin.

Grandpa Kong brought the Chinese custom of  Kai aka fostering  to the Dayak's of this region. Mum had an Iban Kai Dad, aka Ah Pai and Kai Ma. The Dayaks recognised Mum to be their own.

After 100 years from the first arrival of my ancestors, in the veins of these first immigrants flow the blood of Kelabit, Iban, Bidayuh, Kadasan, Orang Ulu. Such is the rich heritage of the Chans and Kongs.

Dragon Boat Festival Music evening.端午節音樂之夜

端午節音樂之夜五月卅一日週六晚上六點半至九請帶一份食物來2014我們期待您 齊來共享經典名曲一起同唱生命新歌點半於教會禮堂      

Dragon Boat Festival     Music Night31st May, Saturday night6 ： 30–9 ： 30pm at the church auditorium Please bring a plate of food to share with us. Please come

The History behind this dumpling and the Dragon boat festival associated with is Qu Yuan, a famous Chinese poet from the kingdom of Chu jumped to the sea when he was frustrated that the king did not listen to his advice. After his death, the people realized that the king had made a great error by not listening to him. By then it was too late, they threw rice into the sea so that the fish would not eat his body. The banging of drums on the dragon boats was to scare the fish away.

Dragon Boat festival and Zhung Zi.端午節音樂之夜

Green or raw bamboo leaves my mum used to grow. 

The one used for ba zhang should be the big leaf bamboo called Indocalamus tessellatus
This is a post of Tradition and nostalgia. The Zhungzi or zhung in my Cantonese dialect or commonly known in Singapore and Malaysia as Bak Zhang is a traditional Chinese food, made of glutinous rice stuffed with different fillings and wrapped in bamboo or reed leaves. They are cooked by steaming or boiling. Through the years in South East Asia, it has morphed into the Nyonya Zhung where the fragrant pandan leaf has been used to impart it's fragrance.

We ate this every year on the Lunar fifth of May, and we helped Mum wrap this difficult dumpling. I can make it but I am a lazy person, so I have not made it as an adult.

The History behind this dumpling and the Dragon boat festival associated with is Qu Yuan, a famous Chinese poet from the kingdom of Chu jumped to the sea when he was frustrated that the king did not listen to his advice. After his death, the people realized that the king had made a great error by not listening to him. By then it was too late, they threw rice into the sea so that the fish would not eat his body. The banging of drums on the dragon boats was to scare the fish away.

These days you can buy the tetrahedral shaped zhungzi throughout the year. My traditional Cantonese ones are rectangular shape like a pillow. My two older sisters Rose and Elizabeth can make them. Alas for me, too many decades away from home and combined with laziness, this tradition has died with me. I think I can make the tetrahedral shape of my mother in law, if I tried. They use a special kind of bamboo leaf which my mum grew in her garden. Most people buy from imported from China. The Vietnamese call this Elephant bamboo.

On Wednesday, just as I was about to start my Adult ESOL class, the ESOL administrator, my friend C gave me a pack and she had made some Zhungzi. I have forgotten it was the festival again. During the class, I was discussing with the class about lunch, and they talked about rice. We talked about the different ways of eating rice. A student brought up the dumpling made of sticky rice. My friend's Zhungzi came handy. I took them out and showed it to my students from Algeria and Peru.. What is more true than one picture is worthed a thousand words. I only had 4 of them, so I didn't want to let the students sample them.

When Sam saw them, he was very excited. He had not have Zhungzi for 4 years. No prize for guessing who ate most of them. May be I should try to make them.

I took the photo of the bamboo clump when I arrived on the Gold Coast. It was the same one Mum had grown in Borneo. Here where her body lay, they also grown the bamboo which we used to make Zhungzi. We used with without having to boil them as you would have to with the imported ones. The leaves were soft and subtle.

Living Landscapes Connected Communities - Areca BooksAreca Books

Living Landscapes, Connected Communities: Culture, Environment and Change Across Asia

The Lake, the Weir, and a Tragic Tale of Unintended Consequences
Henry Chan, Adnan A. Hezri and Justine Vaz



My brother Dr Henry Chan is one of the writers.

When Henry was a baby, Grandpa said Henry had a forehead just like my great grand Father. A high forehead of a royal official.Grand pa would be glad that Henry is very successful, he has a PhD from University of Helsinki, and works for WWF.

http://arecabooks.com/product/living-landscapes-connected-communities-culture-environment-change-across-asia/


 

http://reducefootprints.blogspot.com/

ABC Letter T for tiger.

The first time I went to a zoo, I was twenty. Mum and dad took me to the Singapore zoo, before I went to Canada. I thought it was a wonderful experience.
(Photo is a Singapore zoo tiger.) a child on a school trip to Wellington Zoo entered a secure area of the tiger enclosure last week.

The child was part of a group of children and adults in the visitor viewing area when he or she somehow got in to the secure area.

Some people argue that there shouldn't be animals in enclosure. This will just add fuel to this discussion.



http://abcwednesday-mrsnesbitt.blogspot.co.nz/

Grandma and the grinding stone

My maternal Grandma and I using the grinding stone to make cakes.


This is a very special photo, After leaving home for 8 years, I return with my husband to pay respect to my Bodai, Mum's mum in Durin. She wanted to make her Hakka cakes for him. Alas she said she was too old to operate the grinding stone. She asked me to operate it, The year was 1983, I was to see her one more time.

Cry of oppressed women 妇女的哭泣

Cry of oppressed women 妇女的哭泣

 

Published May 2014
www.3a.co.nz
Ann Kit Suet Chin Chan/Chen Jie Xue 我是 陈洁雪

Women face many kinds of oppression through the centuries. The author takes you to a journey of modern day oppression.

This story traces the life of Nadine, a girl born to Indian parents. It embodies the issues of a Kiwi girl, Nadine, growing up in conflicting cultures and getting lost in her environment.

Nadine grows up to overcome her problems to help women who suffered from physical and mental violence, domestic violence, rape, pornography, swinging, incest, bullying, sex with minors, sex slavery and human trafficking.

Every book, every volume you see here, has a soul. The soul of the person who wrote it and of those who read it and lived and dreamed with it.

― Carlos Ruiz Zafón, The Shadow of the Wind

Ann is the writer of Diary of a Bereaved Mother, Goodbye my baby, From China to Borneo to Beyond, and Mail Order Bride. Indeed each of these books has a soul. Ann gives a voice for the bereaved and the oppressed


I am the writer of:
1: From China to Borneo and beyond. 海外华人的中国魂: 从中国，到南洋，到更远
2: Diary of a Bereaved Mother, Goodbye my baby 丧儿记: 丧失儿子的母亲的一本传记 
3: Mail Order Bride 邮购新娘

"MUSICAL: Thursday challenge

The current theme is "MUSICAL" (Singing, Dancing, Playing an Instrument, Band,...).

Posting begins approximately Thursday 1am UTC (Wed 8pm EST, Wed 5pm PST, Thu 11am AEST) at http://www.spunwithtears.com/thursday.html

This year is Thursday Challenge's 10-year anniversary. Thanks for your participation!

San Francisco

http://whistlestopphotohunt.blogspot.co.nz/ 


In 1977, I went to San Francisco to visit my Aunty Teresa. She took me to Lombard Street and told me that it was the crookiest road in the world. I lamented I didn't have a photo.


My brother Henry sent me this pix taken when he was in San Francisco.

***I left my heart behind in San Francisco for the Giant crab bought at the Fisherman wharf, the big strawberries in my aunty's garden and the artichokes at the market

Connected to the New Zealand Chinese.

https://www.facebook.com/NewZealandChinese

From China to Borneo and Beyond

Updated last Friday

Ann Kit Suet Chin-Chan - looks like a fantastic book - anyone had a chance to read it?

 

Am thrilled to bits that  NewZealandChinese 

posted a comment on my book.