Chinese Dumplings

Sadly, today was likely the last time that I will be able to participate in Global Gathering, so I am a little glum at the moment. The final meeting was, however, a fun and interesting one. The Chinese ladies in the group showed the rest of us how to make dumplings, like the ones that they traditionally eat at their New Year celebrations. They did most of the difficult parts themselves, but they let the rest of us try our hands at it, too. 

Not wanting to pass up the opportunity, I attempted to make a dumpling, and Kristy patiently assisted me. I had a great deal of trouble with rolling my ball of dough into a nice, flat circle. The 'flat' part was not a problem; however, my flat piece of dough was not very circular. 

     

After my rolled-out bit of dough was finally acceptably circle-like, I had to put in some of the pork and spice filling and then fold the dumpling closed. I unfortunately overfilled mine a bit, but Kristy assured my that it would be okay, anyway. 

After a dumplings were formed, they had to be cooked. The Chinese ladies preferred to simply boil them, but they also fried a few at the request of some of the British women. The boiled dumplings did not look particularly appetizing, but they were actually quite tasty, despite the sogginess that goes along with boiling. The fried ones, however, were EXCELLENT. I had only intended to eat one or two, but the final count was closer to seven. Fortunately, the ladies had anticipated that the dumplings would be a big hit and made plenty.

Flower Arranging

Today, my schedule once again allowed me to attend Global Gathering.  Although the crowd was smaller than it often is, several people came for the first time, including a Spanish lady and her daughter. Our activity was led by a British lady named Lucy, who demonstrated flower arranging. Her young son, Freddie, came with her, and he seemed to enjoy her demonstration, despite wanting her to pay more attention to him. After someone handed him a snack and something to color, his mom was able to precede without further interruption.

Lucy's arrangements were quite different than what I was expecting. One was a hand-tied bouquet, and the other was a centerpiece consisting of a candle surrounded by flowers and greenery. For the centerpiece, she used a style called blocking, which meant that she used four different plants and did not mix them together. Thus, there were four distinct patches of color. The candle was held in place with toothpicks, something that all of us in attendance found quite clever. 

When making the hand-tied bouquet, she explained the importance of planning and getting everything ready before starting, since one has only a single free hand to use after beginning. She told us that the proper way a make the bouquet is to place flowers between one's thumb and index finger one at a time, and then turn all of the flowers each time a new one is added. This helps the arrangement keep its shape. She also showed us how to add flowers to fill in gaps at the end, and then how to tie the final bouquet. Although I was not a huge fan of the finished product, I definitely learned some things from her demonstration. 

Pressed Flower Cards

Today, my schedule worked out so that I could finally make it to another meeting of Global Gathering, the group for wives of international students that I participated in some last term. I really enjoyed getting to see everyone again! Our activity of the day was making cards from pressed flowers. The flowers came from the garden of the group leader's father. Apparently, he loves pressing flower but never does anything with them afterwards. Last year, he gave her 11 telephone books full of pressed flowers, and she brought about four of those books to the table for us to use in card-making. Some of the flowers were absolutely gorgeous, and making the cards was both easy and fun. I plan to give mine to my mom, because she really likes pretty stationary. 

Job Search and Global Gathering

The first few weeks here in Exeter have been quite interesting for me. Unlike Will, I am simply a "tag-along," with no reason for being here other than to accompany him. This feels rather awkward at times, but I'm glad that I was able to come.

While Will busies himself with academic and athletic pursuits, my main diversion has been looking for jobs. I'm hoping to find a temporary position as a statistician or data analyst, or perhaps a job working with children. The search has not gone as quickly as I would have liked, but I am optimistic that I will have a position within a couple of weeks.

Beyond searching for a job, I've begun getting to know a few people. I recently began participating in a group for wives of international students in Exeter called the Global Gathering (http://globalgatheringexeter.blogspot.com/). The group is run by several British ladies and held at the home of one of them. About ten women make it to the two-hour meeting each week, and many of them bring their toddlers along. Today was my second Global Gathering meeting, and I had a very good time. We learned how to make delicious strawberry and raspberry tarts, and we got to eat them after we finished cooking.

Here are a few pictures of the preparation process:

Unfortunately, the group will not be meeting again until November 6 because Biddy Walton, the lady who hosts the gathering, will be spending the next two weeks in Morocco improving her Arabic. I hope I can continue participating at least occasionally; however, it is on Thursday mornings, so it is highly likely that when I get a job, I will have to stop attending the gathering.