加油 – jiā yóu

Today, my oldest had his first swim meet for the summer. While he was swiming with his teammates, his little brothers cheered him on. In particular, my 2 1/2  year old started saying 加油, jiā yóu, 加油 as he watched his brother swim. I was kind of surprised by this outburst of Chinese as his Chinese is limited to food and some simple instructional words such as go, come, eat, etc. It turned out, there was a Ni Hao Kai-lan episode where Kai-lan and her friends cheered for Ho Ho. The best way to understand 加油 is in a sentence, it basically is the equivelent of  “Go, Name (Ho Ho), Go!

This again affirms my believe television is ok as long as it’s educational! Seriously, if my kids are going to watch tv, at least I know they are learning!

My 3 year old little Dumpling announced yesterday that he can speak Chinese!  Yeah!  So I asked what he can say.  He proudly said, “去” (meaning go to) McDonald’s!

Right, his Chinese is excellent, and so as my son’s diet.

On a recent family trip to Europe with the in-laws, my kids were doted-on with lots of food, (yes, that includes cookies, chocolates, potato chips, ice cream, and all the other junk food one can imagine). Despite my protests, as I was trying hard to maintain certain boundaries, I was out-voted each time.  In fact, my 7 year old declared that, while on vacation, they should be allowed to “live a little.”

However, the best part was how my 4 year old kept on testing his grandmother’s Chinese. Grandma happens to have been a Chinese Literature major in college. While strolling the streets of Barcelona with a plethora of street performers and vendors, whenever he saw something familiar, he would ask, “Nai Nai, do you know what is chicken in Chinese?” “Do you know what is fish in Chinese?” etc etc. His easy command of Mandarin Chinese was certainly a change, which can be attributed to his attendance of Chinese school over the past 2 months.  Ok, maybe I’m getting a little ahead of myself, he’s not quite speaking fluently in Chinese, but I’m overjoyed to hear him initiate the use of the language. It really is music to my ears!

Many people familiar with the Chinese culture know that little red envelops are used to give money from one person to the other. In general, red envelops are given from the older generation to the younger generation, for special occasions such as Chinese New Year, Birthdays, and Weddings.

My three boys are very much in tune with this cultural artifact, as they have been on the receiving end ever since they were born. Even the 1 1/2 year old knows to take the money out of the red envelop. On our recent trip to California, my mother asked my 4 year old to say hello to his paternal grandmother when she called them on the phone, to that, the 4 year old refused. However, when the phone ran again later that afternoon from his great grandmother, he had no trouble saying hello. My mother was a little bewildered as my 4 year old only sees his great grandmother only 2-3 times a year, whereas he sees his paternal grandmother at least once or twice a month. When asked why he was so eager to say hello to a great grandmother he hardly sees and refuses to say hello to a grandmother he sees often, his reply “Tai Nai Nai, or great grandmother in Chinese, gives me money” Wow, the power of these little red envelops!

I was truly speechless when my mother told me the story, not quite sure how to interprate this kind of materilistic behavior.

Television – 電視-diàn shì

My youngest, just shy of 18 months, has a rather limited vocabulary of 2 words, mā mā (mommy) and chē chē (cars in babytalk, which generally involves doubling up the word). I had mixed feelings when he recently debuted his third word sequence, kàn diàn shì [看電視], or watch television. I couldn’t quite make out the utterance until he handed over the remote and proceeded to point to the television set in my room. I couldn’t help but laugh out loud. But of all things, television? I guess it’s not unexpected, certainly in line with the first two brands that my oldest started recognizing when he was a baby, McDonalds and BMW. We live in an age where children are preternaturally adaptable to technology and media.

In anticipation of my dumpling party with Jennifer 8. Lee this afternoon, I’ve researched a little more about this very articulate and funny lady. Appearantly, her parents named her after JFK airport, not its President namesake. Her younger sister Frances, and younger brother Kenneth complete the initials. According to Lee, JFK was the airport her parents landed when they first moved to America, kind of like the Ellis Islands of the late 1800s and early 1900s. Lee graduated from Harvard before becoming a reporter with the very prestigious NY Times.

This video clip from Ted was done as part of her book tour for The Fortune Cookie Chronicle, and it’s a talked titled “Jennifer 8. Lee Hunts for General Tso.” It is really funny and insightful. I hope you enjoy it. Be sure to tune in tomorrow for a recap of my visit to my new found idol!

My kids love to watch TV, anything from Cartoons to Sports, they love them all! In an effort to curb that habit, I’ve been trying to limit the amount of TV time to weekends only. Of course, this doesn’t stop them from asking for TV every day and several times during the day. It was not easy sticking with the rule, but I’ve been very good until my creative 3 year old finally asked with “Mommy, can I watch TV? I’ll watch Chinese Dora, because Chinese Dora teaches me Chinese!?” as if to reward me for watching a Chinese show. So, I broke the rule, and he got to watch TV during the week. I was upset he manipulated me, but was ultimately happy that he was learning Chinese through the show. . .was I wrong for giving in?

You will soon be able to find Chinese Dora DVDs on our website. Stayed tuned for our actual launch date!

On my way home from picking up my almost 4 year old son, we saw one of his teachers at the bus stop waiting for the bus. Like many curious little ones, he asked why his teacher has to wait for the bus at the bus stop and didn’t drive a car home.  Being Chinese and practical, I figure it was a good opportunity to educate my little one that not everyone can afford a car, that is why going to school and studying hard (yes, I know, I’m being like my own parents and very Chinese) is a foundation for a comfortable living/life style, etc etc. His comment was “I don’t need to make money to buy a car, Ye Ye (grandpa in Chinese) will give me his mini super coupe when I’m old enough to drive. So much for a life lesson! I guess you can’t fault me for at least trying! 

For those of you trying hard to speak Chinese to your kids, don’t get discouraged! My older one was pretty good with his Chinese because we had Grandma’s help. During my maternity leave with my second one, I was trying to practice Chinese with him. When I showed him a picture of an elephant and asked him what it is in Chinese, his answer was Elephante!!!! Thanks to the awesome Spanish lesson he had in school! What can I say? Keep trying, it will stick one day.