Greg and Selena » chinese http://www.gregandselena.com Greg and Selena live together. Fri, 03 Feb 2012 13:03:58 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 Selena has been grounded by the Chinese culture. http://www.gregandselena.com/2010/05/10/selena-has-been-grounded-by-the-chinese-culture/ http://www.gregandselena.com/2010/05/10/selena-has-been-grounded-by-the-chinese-culture/#comments Mon, 10 May 2010 13:57:02 +0000 Greg http://www.gregandselena.com/?p=1114 Confucius say "You're grounded, Selena."

Selena is not allowed out of the house for one month, so says Confucius.

Okay, maybe it’s not a decree specifically from the ancient Chinese philosopher specifically but somewhere between his time and the beginning of the Lo Dynasty (two weeks ago) the Chinese rules for ... [ more ]]]> Confucius say "You're grounded, Selena."

Confucius say "You're grounded, Selena."

Selena is not allowed out of the house for one month, so says Confucius.

Okay, maybe it’s not a decree specifically from the ancient Chinese philosopher specifically but somewhere between his time and the beginning of the Lo Dynasty (two weeks ago) the Chinese rules for a new mom were determined.

They are:

  • Drink only special Chinese tea
  • Eat only special Chinese chicken soup
  • Do not go outside

At first I thought these were ancients customs, good to know in that understand-your-heritage sort of way. But, no, they are being taken this very seriously.  I know because of how many people come to visit bearing chicken soup.

Selena’s dad, step-mom, aunt and uncle, her dad’s friends, and even our have dropped by to see Kaylee and brought with them the special Chinese chicken soup.

With each new guests arrival, it became clearer to me that this was a conspiracy. I have been in the dark, while the greater Chinese culture was cooking Chicken soup, mixing hot teas and getting ready for Selena’s recovery month.

And how has Selena taken to being grounded by her culture?  Pretty well. She’s been recovering from the surgery, so she’s hardly been interested in even going upstairs, much less out on the town.  Plus, she prefers warm beverages anyway, so that was no biggie. The real aspect that’s required some discipline for Selena has been the food. Chicken soup is good on occasion, but she’s had to eat quite a lot of it. When this month is over (in about two weeks), I know she’s going to be craving some good eats.

]]> http://www.gregandselena.com/2010/05/10/selena-has-been-grounded-by-the-chinese-culture/feed/ 0 Free lunch on the Red Line http://www.gregandselena.com/2008/10/02/free-lunch-on-the-red-line/ http://www.gregandselena.com/2008/10/02/free-lunch-on-the-red-line/#comments Thu, 02 Oct 2008 14:28:44 +0000 Greg http://www.gregandselena.com/?p=347 As I walked into work, passing the deli, I wondered what I would have for lunch. Then I remembered I brought lunch. THEN I remembered I brought lunch as far as onto the Metro… but not back off.

“Is that your bag?”  That may be heard a lot today on the red ... [ more ]]]> As I walked into work, passing the deli, I wondered what I would have for lunch. Then I remembered I brought lunch. THEN I remembered I brought lunch as far as onto the Metro… but not back off.

“Is that your bag?”  That may be heard a lot today on the red line, because under a seat in the first car of a train is a bag with a Styrofoam container of Chinese food (Mago Tofu and Sweet and Sour Chicken).

I’ve never forgotten anything on the Metro before. I am glad that if I am going to lose something it will be as disposable as leftover Chinese.

What have you ever lost on the public transit?

 

]]> http://www.gregandselena.com/2008/10/02/free-lunch-on-the-red-line/feed/ 5 Happy New Year! http://www.gregandselena.com/2007/02/18/happy-new-year/ http://www.gregandselena.com/2007/02/18/happy-new-year/#comments Sun, 18 Feb 2007 15:52:00 +0000 Selena Kang http://gregandselena.com/?p=92 Greg celebrated his first full-on Chinese New Year function. My aunt made way too much food as she does every Chinese New Year and we took a lot of it home. My uncle, as usual, tried to get people to drink with him. His favorite alcohol is a chinese rice ... [ more ]]]> Greg celebrated his first full-on Chinese New Year function. My aunt made way too much food as she does every Chinese New Year and we took a lot of it home. My uncle, as usual, tried to get people to drink with him. His favorite alcohol is a chinese rice wine that Greg swears is used to power small airplanes. The usual after-dinner entertainment is a game of mahjong. My cousins taught Greg how to play last time and he is better at it then I am. So when it was just the pros playing, they really kicked it into high gear, and suddenly, Greg was shocked to find himself losing in pros mode.

My Dad’s birthday is the day after Chinese New Year, so we had a cake for him. There is a very distinct style to how Asian cake and baked goods are made. I love it!

It’s the year of the pig and according to my family (I’m not sure if this is a common Chinese thing), if it is your birth year, you should be wearing something red close to your body at all times this year. So my brother got a lot of red underwear for Christmas.

A couple of other things my family tells me about Chinese New Years:
Dumplings are good foods to eat today. They are shaped like traditional Chinese currency, so they symbolize fortune. My aunt used to make them for dinner and tuck a coin in one of them, and all the kids would try to get the dumpling.
Fish is a good thing to eat over New Years, but not all of it. Fish represents surplus, so the leftover fish is eaten the next day, symbolizing having plenty for the year.
Rice cakes are traditional Chinese New Year desserts.

Shing Nian Quai Lu everyone! (Happy New Year)

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