We now present...UVU!

It's official: Utah Valley State College has now become Utah Valley University. Yesterday they opened the new library (which, although quite large and definitely a huge upgrade from the "Resource Center" they used to have, has many sparse and empty shelves. I guess you can't ask for perfection all at once) and had a huge party all evening long to say goodbye to UVSC and hello to UVU.

Then today they dedicated the new University. There were tons of peeps there: politicians, university board members, donors, the construction company that built the library, the architect who designed the library (he had a fantastic NYC accent), UVU presidents from the past 40 years, and President Monson even showed up to give the lil dedicatoy prayer (which I was actually quite surprised about- is that a common practice outside of Utah?).

Strangely enough, I felt rather proud of UVSC. It might not be the best school in the state, but the longer I'm here, the more affection I feel for it. I really like it, architecture and all (where else do you find a campus that you can walk completely across and never once step out of doors?). In the ESL department at least, the faculty and staff are pleasant to work with, the student body is pretty great and fairly diverse, and I can basically do whatever I want with my classes. It's a comfortable place to work. The pay leaves something to be desired...but they DO have a cafeteria that makes deliciously greasy burgers. AND I can get a bus pass for only $5. It makes me a little sad to think of leaving in the near future...

In other news, it's finally summer and I have proof (aside from it being blazing saddles hot):














My day lilies are starting to bloom.

Curves Smart

Total calories burned this morning with Curves 30 minute work-out on the new Smart Equipment: 684.

Mango-Lime Fool

Last night I hosted the book club I belong to, and as host, I am responsible for providing dessert. My grand plan was to make a fantastically simple and delicious mango-lime fool that Zillah and I had made for one of our dinner nights. Off to the store I went, in search of some canned mango. But do you think I could find that damned canned mango anywhere?

Not a chance.

Canned plums, grapefruit, and apricots, yes.

But no stinking mango.

After 3 grocery stores and a near meltdown in the store (where I restrained myself from chucking a large can of grapefruit at the juice boxes), and desperately wondering why there isn't a Wegmans within 2000 miles of Utah, I finally gave up my search and opted for "fresh" mangoes. Fresh is in quotes because mangoes are never really fresh or ripe around here, which unfortunately gave my mango-lime fool a suspiciously vegetable-y taste (does anyone else think unripe mangoes taste like carrots?).

Overall, I think it was decent. Everyone ate it at least. Either way, I thought I'd share the recipe with you all...good luck finding the mangoes.

(Zillah- where on earth did you get them last time? And thanks for the recipe)

Mango Lime Fool

1 14 oz can sliced mango
peel of 1 lime
juice of 1/2 a lime
2/3 cup heavy cream
6 tbsp plain yogurt

1. Puree the mango, peel and lime juice in a food processor.
2. In a seperate bowl, whisk the cream and yogurt together until thick.
3. Whisk cream mixture into mango mixture.
   
4. Chill for 1-2 hours

...

Why don't Americans get to have a traditional costume?!

And no, cowboy hats don't count.

And check out T-rav's post about World Refugee Day (June 20th).

To smell a rose...or something else a little less desirable?

The other day I was riding in the car with several people from Burma. I hadn't noticed it as we were wandering around the airport, but when they got in the car, there was a distinct smell that followed them in. I mentioned something about it to T-rav and he informed me that all Burmese people have that same exact smell (beetle nut juice and the type of food they eat).

I've noticed that Nepali people smell like masala. And I'm sure anyone who has ever hung around a Korean for very long has noticed the scent of kimchi wafting off their clothes, hair, bags...and anything else they carry with them.

We've also noticed that these smells seem to be stronger when the people first get to the US and that, obviously, much of a person's smell has to do with what they cook. I'm not saying these are bad smells (I find the smell of kimchi to be almost pleasant)- I've just noticed that most different ethnicities smell differently.

But here's the question: what do Americans (or America) smell like? For example, when we landed in Guatemala, the whole entire country smelled like a mix between smoke, cilantro, sweat, and something else pleasant that I couldn't quite place. Edinburgh, Scotland reeked of haggis (at least it did when I was there). So when you land in America, is there a smell? Do Americans smell like hay fields? Pollution? Garlic? Grease? Potatoes? Onions? Perfume? Any ideas?

Poll

So my sister, who got married in Brazil last December, is finally going to be able to move back to the US with her husband. Hoo-rah! The original plan was for her to get married in Brazil and then, as soon as possible, come to the US and have a reception here. Unfortunately for her, that didn't quite work out as quickly as she hoped: they're planning on finally arriving in August or September.

Now, even though it will have been 9 months since her marriage, she still wants to have a reception, but she's not sure if she should. She especially wants to wear her wedding dress. Her question for you all is if it would a) be weird if she had a reception in general; b) be especially weird if she wore her wedding dress. Please leave a comment and/or respond to the poll on the right. Thanks!

when things go wrong...

I've discovered something interesting about myself and teaching: it doesn't matter how great my plans for class may be, or how much I've planned for a specific lecture; if something is off with me or with my students, class is going to be dreadful. End of story.

Take today, for example. I was prepared (ok, it wasn't my best lesson ever, but at least I wasn't totally improvising) and in a moderately decent mood when I arrived. But then I apparently made the fatal mistake of returning some tests to my students as class started. They instantly went into convulsions of despair over their low scores while I tried to get their attention to explain exactly what went wrong. Then, of course, they asked all the hardest questions about the test, so I had difficulty explaining the answers, causing me to become a bit flustered, and them to become more confused.

Not exactly the best start to the day.

And then one of my students who just so happens to be one of the ditsiest (and bustiest, in case you were wondering) people I've ever met kept asking questions about 3 minutes too late, confusing the rest of the students and totally throwing me off guard. To make matters worse, 50% of my class never has any idea what I'm saying, and the other 50% is brilliant and gets bored with me repeating myself over and over and over again for the dummies. Today happened to be one of those days that the dumb and dumber couldn't get any...dumber.

Oh, and did I mention that I happen to have a blushing problem that seems to resurface whenever I'm not feeling like myself (and sometimes when I am), or when I'm irritated, or excited, or awkward, or really feeling any emotion at all. Well, I do. And it's always a disaster because once I start blushing, it never stops.

So I'm not sure if it was me or them, or perhaps a combination of the two (or maybe it has something to do with the phase of the moon), but today was definitely not one of my better days as an ESL teacher. I ended class with an overwhelming desire to throttle their scrawny little necks (shoving their faces in the sand is also a good option) until they stopped speaking Korean or Japanese or Spanish and started speaking English. Honestly- do they really think they're going to learn English if they never bother to SPEAK it?!

And I seriously thought about dropping their scores by 10 points.

Or making the final 5 pages longer.

Or giving them 2 pop quizzes tomorrow. HA!

On another note, yesterday one of T-rav's Nepali refugees taught me how to make aloo masala (curried potatoes) and then gave me a Nepali marriage necklace, bracelets, a red Hindu dot between my eyes, and one in my hairline that signifies marriage. Actually, the 9 year old daughter attempted to give me the marriage dot first, but ended up slipping with the ink and temporarily dyed a nice patch of my hair a lovely shade of burgundy. Then her mother tried to fix it, but I still ended up with a nice streak in my hair until I washed it out (it only took 3 shampooing attempts).

I really do love my students. Most of the time.

"quake lakes" and brand new rivers

You may have forgotten about the earthquake in China a few weeks ago, but look what it's still doing! (be sure to watch the video)

Koreans and kimchi and smores, oh my!

This Saturday, some (6) of my Korean students from last semester decided we should have a BBQ. So we did. They brought "American" food, which meant tuna on crackers with half a grape on top, pop, fruit, and cupcakes. I provided hot dogs, pasta salad and smores, which they were a bit apprehensive about. T-rav had his first experience hanging out with a culture with which he's not too familiar and he got to see how much Misha (the tall, round-ish boy- the other two peeps had already left when we took this picture) loves me.

Next time, they promised to have both of us over to one of their apartments to make us Korean food (Trav can hardly contain himself with excitement).

Three random things about Koreans: (1) they think their faces are huge and will often try to cover part of their face when having their picture taken, especially when with an American; (2) they think all American food is "sweet;" (3) they think their food is healthy because it's fermented, a process we consider to be rotting. Weird.

the best lemon pound cakes ever

This morning as I was searching for a good recipe to make for dessert tomorrow, I kept coming back to recipes with lemon, lemon, and more lemon. I seem to be obsessed with anything to do with lemon of recent (I'm sure it is in part due to Zillah's influence and the fact that whenever we cook, there always seems to be a lemon involved). You should try these recipes. You really really should.

Sour Cream and Lemon Pound Cake
3 cups cake flour*
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
3 cups sugar
6 eggs, room temperature
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
1-2 tablespoons grated lemon peel
1 cup sour cream

1. Preheat oven to 325°F. Grease 16-cup tube pan. Dust pan with cake flour; tap out excess flour.
2. Sift flour, baking soda and salt into medium bowl. Using electric mixer, beat butter in large bowl at medium speed until fluffy. Gradually add sugar and beat 5 minutes. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating just until combined after each addition. Beat in lemon juice and peel. Using rubber spatula, mix in dry ingredients. Mix in sour cream. Transfer batter to prepared pan.
3. Bake cake until tester inserted near center comes out clean, about 1 hour 30 minutes. Let cake cool in pan on rack 15 minutes. Cut around cake in pan. Turn out cake.
4. Carefully turn cake right side up on rack and cool completely. (Can be prepared 2 days ahead. Wrap in foil and let stand at room temperature.)

*I always use cake flour when I make these, but I'm guessing you could probably use regular flour and it would be ok. It might come out a little heavier. Try it and tell me how it worked! Oh, and both of these are delicious with sliced and slightly sugared strawberries.

Lemon-Cornmeal Pound Cake
(from The Essential Baker)

1 tablespoon unsalted butter
12 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup sugar
3 extra large eggs
1 1/4 cup cake flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 cup yellow cornmeal
1/4 teaspoon salt
finely grated zest of 2 lemons
2 teaspoons freshly sqeezed lemon juice

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Use the tablespoon of butter to grease the pan.
   
2. Beat the butter until it's fluffy. Then add the sugar and cream together. One at a time, add the eggs to the butter mixture.
   
3. In a separate bowl, mix the dry ingredients together.
4. Add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture in 3 stages, blending well after each addition.
   
5. Add the lemon zest and lemon juice and stir well.
   
6. Transfer the batter to the prepared loaf pan (yes, the batter should be very thick).
7. Bake for 45 minutes, until the cake is light golden on top and a cake tester inserted into the center comes out slightly moist.
   
8. Cool completely on a wire rack.