Final Assignment Anthology

Introduction

Throughout the semester, we continued to upload diverse posts to our assignment blogs, and now our blogs are full of a wide variety of interesting posts which reflect our gains from the course. In this course, we explored the definition of key terms in literature, evaluated and analyzed ideas of others, and expressed our understandings of food, feelings, and films. Our initial blog posts were mainly about writing mechanism and literature terms, such as audience and genre. Then, we focused on food, its significance, and how it is incorporated in videos and films. In addition to writing in respond to specific questions and topics, we also had opportunities to write creatively in assignments like voiceover for film scenes and shopping list for a meal. In the later stage of this course, we shifted focus to feeling and analysis on articles. We made creative blog post for the pie assignment and addressed our understanding of the assigned reading for the Proust excerpt homework.

Our diverse blog post assignments allowed me to practice and improve my writing in a systematic way. These smaller, lower-stakes blog posts were relatively less challenging than letter-graded assignments. They let me to explore different writing styles and familiarize myself with different audiences as well as genres, better preparing me for bigger writing assignments.

Among all the assignment blog posts, I picked and revised the following five posts. I considered them a good and balanced representation of my writing skills, our course topic, and course objectives. The main theme of these five posts is food but also includes feelings and films. I arranged the posts based on how closely they are connected to the main theme, food. Therefore, the first two blog posts are my personal understanding of and experience with food. The third one is an ethnography of food court in Emory. The fourth post relates to film, and the last post relates to feeling.

Blog Post 1 - Har Gow

http://eng101benhe.blogspot.com/2016/11/revised-blog-post-1-for-final.html
Original Version:
http://eng101benhe.blogspot.com/2016/09/blogpost-september9-2016-fora-typical.html

Blog Post 2 - Food and Religion

http://eng101benhe.blogspot.com/2016/11/revised-blog-post-2-for-final.html
Original Version:
http://eng101benhe.blogspot.com/2016/09/blog-post-september-13th-from.html

Blog Post 3 - Ethnography of the Cox Hall Food Court

http://eng101benhe.blogspot.com/2016/11/revised-blog-post-3-for-final.html
Original Version:
http://eng101benhe.blogspot.com/2016/09/ethnography-of-coxhall-food-court-i.html

Blog Post 4 - Voiceover for the Opening Scene of Eat Drink Man Woman

http://eng101benhe.blogspot.com/2016/11/revised-blog-post-4-for-final.html
Original Version:
http://eng101benhe.blogspot.com/2016/10/blog-post-october-12th-voiceover-for.html

Blog Post 5 - Night Sky Pie

http://eng101benhe.blogspot.com/2016/11/revised-blog-post-5-for-final.html
Original Version:
http://eng101benhe.blogspot.com/2016/11/blog-post-nov.html

Concluding Reflection

These five revised blog posts explore our course topic, food, feelings, and films. They allow me to consider the course learning outcomes and reflect on what I gain from the writing process.

Usually, I start my writing with an outline. I brainstorm possible contents to be included in the posts and then refine the options. After that, I write my rough draft according to the outline. Lastly, I revise and polish my writings.

While revising my previous assignment blog posts, I realized that sometimes I forget to consider my audience. As a result of it, I assume, my writings may make sense to me, but not necessarily to other readers. Therefore, in my revisions, I paid extra attention to audience as well as other key elements, such as genre and tone. For example, my targeted audience for the first revised post is food lovers who like reading blogs, and so I chose to write in a conversational style.

Now, after knowing the definition of Har Gow, you may ask what a good Har Gow is like. In my opinion, a good Har Gow should fulfill the following criteria:

1. has thin, soft, and translucent skin
2. the skin should be as thin as possible, but not to the extent which it can be easily ruptured by chopsticks (the translucence of the skin allows Har Gow to have a reddish appearance as we can kind of see the shrimp inside)
3. the shrimp must be fresh
4. all the ingredients must be seasonal
5. tastes fresh, juicy, and full-bodied

For my fifth revised post which I intended to present to literature critics, I picked a lighthearted tone and tried to use detailed description of the environment to convey my feelings.

Lying on the lawn and facing the clear night sky, I can feel the zephyr touching my skin and see countless stars twinkling in the distance.

In the process of writing, I also learned to use evidence to support my idea and make my writing more expressive. I incorporated personal anecdote in my second blog post to explain how past experience and cultural context shapes my understanding of food.

Every year, as a tradition, on the first day of Chinese lunar calendar my parents and I will go to the temple as many other Chinese families. Following our visit to the temple, we will always have vegetarian meals on that day. This is a common religious custom in China and the logic behind it is that, according to Chinese Buddhism, gods are born on the first day of the lunar calendar. Therefore, as a form of respect, people avoid killing animals and eat vegetarian meals on that day. To this day, though many Chinese people no longer have a strong affiliation to Buddhism, this custom remains as a tradition.

Working on these five blog posts I picked and other assignment blog posts, I also practiced evaluating ideas of others and presenting my own ones. In addition, along with creating these posts, I had a deeper and more sophisticated understanding of food, how it relates to feelings, and how it is incorporated and explored in films. Last but not least, this anthology project allows me to realize the importance of revising my own writings. In this process, I can identify my mistakes and avoid making them again in the future.

Revised Blog Post 5 for Final Assignment Anthology

Night Sky Pie

Lying on the lawn and facing the clear night sky, I can feel the zephyr touching my skin and see countless stars twinkling in the distance. I am at the Dolomites, a mountain range located in northeastern Italy. It is hard to imagine that in the middle of nowhere, there is this boutique hotel offering a soothing place for relaxation and meditation.

Breathing the cool, refreshing air of the midnight, I start to create a pie recipe in my head. I am calling it the “Night Sky Pie of the Dolomites”. There is dark chocolate, coffee powder, and nata de coco. A layer of dark chocolate will be the base of the pie and an extra thin layer of coffee powder will be spread on top of it, representing the dark sky. Small pieces of nata de coco will be placed sporadically on the pie, symbolizing the twinkling stars. The bitterness of dark chocolate and the sweet taste of nata de coca will neutralize each other, creating a balanced flavor. This pie is a symbol of tranquility in the dark night.

Original Version: http://eng101benhe.blogspot.com/2016/11/blog-post-nov.html

Revised Blog Post 4 for Final Assignment Anthology

Voiceover for the Opening Scene of Eat Drink Man Woman

              Mr. Chen, a well-known chef in Taiwan, with over thirty years of experience in culinary realm is now showing us how he cooks his signature dishes.

              The first dish is fried fish. Let's see how he prepares it. First, he cleans out all the insides. Then, he removes the bone carefully and breads the fish. The temperature of the oil is crucial. More than ten years of culinary experience tells Mr. Chen that 350 degree Fahrenheit is the perfect oil temperature.

              Now, Mr. Chen is preparing for his most famous dish, “golden combination”. Ingredients are squid, chicken heart, peppers, Chinese bacon, white carrots, and pork belly. Of course, chicken is also indispensable. The cooking procedure is not simple at all. First, Mr. Chen steams the squid and pork belly to make them tender. Then, he adds chicken, chicken heart, peppers, and white carrots into a pot for boiling for two hours. After that, he places all ingredients into another big pot in layers. Finally, Mr. Chen adds the chicken soup to the pot and place it on the stove for another two hours.

              Now, while waiting for his “golden combination” to be done, Mr. Chen is going to show us how to make Chinese dumplings.

Original Version: http://eng101benhe.blogspot.com/2016/10/blog-post-october-12th-voiceover-for.html

Revised Blog Post 3 for Final Assignment Anthology

Ethnography of the Cox Hall Food Court

I. Background

Strategically located at the center of the Emory campus, Cox Hall Food Court is a popular dining place for Emory students. It opens at 6:30 am and closes at 7:00 pm every day, serving breakfast, lunch, and dinner. According to its official website, the Cox Hall Food Court is positioned as a place “which offers quick-service dining options”. It consisted of ten food vendors, which are ITP Deli, Freshens, Maru, C3, Green Bean, Twisted Taco, Pasta John’s, Beltline Pizza, Dooley’s Farm, and Char’d House. They together offer diverse dining options for students, staff, and visitors at Emory.

II. Observation

I made a visit to the Cox Hall Food Court on September 21^st, at around one o’clock. It was a busy period at Cox as it was flooded with waves of students. I was overwhelmed by its crowdedness as I entered this food court. Basically all tables were occupied, and long lines formed in front of both food vendors and check-out counters. In order to avoid the waiting, I chose a box of pre-made sushi roll and a bowl of cold pasta from the refrigerator and checked out.

As I looked around to find an available seat, I noticed that most tables at the Cox Hall Food Court had four or six seats. About one-third of the tables were located by the glass. The remaining two-third of the tables were situated near the check-out counters and food vendors. I sit down at a table by the glass which was lighted by natural sunlight and ate my food.

III. Interview

In order to evaluate the overall quality of the Cox Hall Food Court, I interviewed two of my friends, Steven and Elaine, regarding their experience of eating at Cox. Elaine eats at Cox Hall approximately once a week. Steven is a less frequent eater at Cox, eating there about twice a month. Their first impressions of the Cox Hall Food Court were both crowded during lunch. However, Elaine added that “during dinner time, the line was much shorter”. Steven did not like the food at Cox Hall except the sushi, and he concluded that “the food was not great but a good change of taste from DUC”. Steven gave an overall score of six out of ten for the Cox Hall Food Court. Elaine, on the other side, liked the food at Cox Hall, especially the tacos. “It is better than the DUC.”, said Elaine. She was happy with Cox’s wide range of choices. After all, she gave a score of seven out of ten for Cox Hall.

IV. Conclusion

The Cox Hall Food Court can get really crowded during the lunch time and the waiting line can be very long. As Elaine mentioned, “it is not a good choice if you are in a rush”. The taste of the food it offers is arguable as our two interviewees gave diverged reviews, but it is certainly a “good choice if you are tired of the DUC”, concluded Elaine.

Reference:
Housing & Dining, http://www.emory.edu/home/life/housing-dining.html
Cox, http://emoryatlanta.cafebonappetit.com/cafe/cox/

Original Version: http://eng101benhe.blogspot.com/2016/09/ethnography-of-coxhall-food-court-i.html

Revised Blog Post 2 for Final Assignment Anthology

Food and Religion

From my perspective, food has a close connection to religion as well as tradition. Different religions have different restrictions on food and people of different ethnicity also have different dietary customs.

Every year, as a tradition, on the first day of Chinese lunar calendar my parents and I will go to the temple as many other Chinese families do. Following our visit to the temple, we will always have vegetarian meals on that day. This is a common religious custom in China and the logic behind it is that, according to Chinese Buddhism, gods are born on the first day of the lunar calendar. Therefore, as a form of respect, people avoid killing animals and eat vegetarian meals on that day. To this day, though many Chinese people no longer have a strong affiliation to Buddhism, this custom remains as a tradition.

Not only does Buddhism have dietary restrictions and customs, but many other religions also do. When I was in high school, I learned from some Jewish students that there is a fasting day every year. In addition, in Jewish culture, there are many limitations on food and the ways that it is prepared.

In conclusion, food is not simply what we eat every day. It contains cultural heritage and has important meaning to different groups of people.

Original Version: http://eng101benhe.blogspot.com/2016/09/blog-post-september-13th-from.html

Revised Blog Post 1 for Final Assignment Anthology

Har Gow

For a typical Cantonese family, going to teahouse on the weekend for dim sum has as high priority as going to church for a western family. Dim sum, the quintessence of culinary intelligence, is an indispensable component in Cantonese’ daily life. If you have been to a dim sum place in America, you may notice that there are dozens of different types of dim sum, ranging from salty to sweet, from meaty to vegetarian, and from warm to cold. These are all crystallizations of generations of chefs’ creativity, efforts, and intelligence.

Among all these diverse and exquisite culinary delicacies, “Har Gow” (also called xiajiao or shrimp dumpling) is my favorite. It is usually considered the most representative among all Cantonese dim sum. Har Gow is usually listed as the first item on a dim sum menu. Based on my experience, the quality of the Har Gow is highly correlated with the overall culinary level of a restaurant. Restaurants that can produce good Har Gow usually offer other types of tasteful dim sum and dishes as well.

So what is Har Gow exactly? According to the online ChinaDictionary, Har Gow is a popular Han traditional snack in Guangdong Province made from wheat starch. Typically, Har Gow is half-moon in shape, translucent, stuffed with shrimps, meat, bamboo shoots and tastes delicious. [1] Now, after knowing the definition of Har Gow, you may ask what a good Har Gow is like. In my opinion, a good Har Gow should fulfill the following criteria:

1.      has thin, soft, and translucent skin

2.      the skin should be as thin as possible, but not to the extent which it can be easily ruptured by chopsticks (the translucence of the skin allows Har Gow to have a reddish appearance as we can kind of see the shrimp inside)

3.      the shrimp must be fresh

4.      all the ingredients must be seasonal

5.      tastes fresh, juicy, and full-bodied

Comparing to its complex composition, eating Har Gow is very simple. Some people like to dip it in soy sauce while others prefer sweet chili sauce. For me, I like it plain, so that I can have a real taste of it, slowly chew it in my mouth, and peacefully enjoy the sense of pleasure this delicacy offers me.

Dim sum certainly has some kind of spiritual value in my mind. While living in Guangzhou, a weekend without going to the teahouse for dim sum is incomplete. Dim sum, especially Har Gow, gives me a sense of belonging and peace which has some kind of magic power that can sweep away all my anxiety and unpleasantness.

[1] "Shrimp Dumplings (Har Gow)." ChinaDictionary. N.p., 04 Mar. 2015. Web. 13 Sept. 2016. <http://chinadictionary.net/shrimp-dumplings-har-gow/>.

Original Version: http://eng101benhe.blogspot.com/2016/09/blogpost-september9-2016-fora-typical.html

Nov. 28th    Reflection on Previous Blog Post

          The blog post assignment regarding the Proust Excerpt was not easy for me. Besides the article’s complexity, I find it hard to just free write something without a given topic. Since I perceive the excerpt as a writing in conversational style, I try to mimic its style while writing my blog post. For example, I wrote:

No wonder why British people are so passionate and devoted to their afternoon tea tradition. I think, perhaps in a busy workday, a cup of British tea with delicate pastries brings them a transient but soothing joy and helps them to maintain positive mentality as well as high efficiency at work.

          Considering our course topic, “food, film, and feeling”, I chose to write about my feeling related to some elements in Proust’s article. Then I found that to convey my feeling well is kind of challenging. I was much more adapted to write in academic or formal style, hence, using colloquial style in conveying my feeling was not easy. I think, in the future, I need to work on improving my writing in different styles and be accustomed to free write assignments.

          Evaluating my writing from the standpoints of course outcomes, I realize that I forget to consider and decide my audience. When I started this blog post, I was not targeting to a specific group of audience, and I just wrote whatever I thought worth writing. In retrospection, I think if I had chosen a target audience, my writing would be more consistent and effective. An aspect which I think I did a relatively good job in is that I evaluated author’s opinion and compared that to mine. Though I kind of mistaken some key points in his article, I addressed my views on some of the points he made.

          In conclusion, I think I need more practice on writing in conversational style and I need to write in a more systematic way which involves considering audience, genres, and rhetoric.