Instructor: Helen Philpott, M. Ed.
Hello from the 4A of the Spring 2001 trimester! Our class has four different nationalities in it: Mirka is Russian, George - Hungarian, Isabel - Brazilian, and the rest of us are Slovaks. Our midterm project was the presentation "One Class - Four Cultures". We hope that you will enjoy it, as well.
"Ai, caramba! The presentation is today!?" This was the beginning of the first presentation when Marosh and Isabel spoke to us in Portuguese. They set up a scene of a Brazilian beach garden with an exotic cocktail, Caipirinha, on the table. Not only were we taught the history of Brazil and shown the most exciting places of this country of carnivals but we were also taught a few common expressions in Portuguese, read the Brazilian poem Cancao da America and listened to some folk songs. We could almost smell the ocean and feel the warm tropical breeze of Brazil.
At the end, we were treated to a typical Brazilian dessert made of condensed milk, coconut and chocolate, and formed into little balls called Beijinhos (Little Coconut Kisses) and Brigadeiros (Brigadier).
Beijinhos (Little Coconut Kisses)
Ingredients:
1 can sweetened condensed milk
1 tablespoon margarine (or butter)
100 g coconut flakes, preferably shred by blender
Instructions:
Yields: 40 pieces.
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Brigadeiro (Brigadier)
Ingredients:
1 can sweetened condensed milk
1 tablespoon margarine (or butter)
2 tablespoons cacao powder
Instructions:
Yields: 40 pieces.
Bob, Misha and Andrej were the Slovak team. Misha and Andrej were wearing traditional Slovak costumes while Bob was wearing a business suit. Accompanied by the Slovak folk music, the three walked into the class and waved the Slovak flag. It was very interesting for the foreign part of the class, including Helen, to find out the basic grammar rules of the Slovak language as well as to sing a romantic Slovak song and practicing common Slovak Expressions. And, of course, we were treated to tasty and creamy Slovak halushki, which are potato gnocchi with sheep cheese �bryndza� and pieces of crunchy bacon "Oravska slanina".
The Russian presentation started when Mirka and Linda marched across the classroom, accompanied by a Russian military march. The explained that this was the day when Russians celebrated their victory in WWII. They then told us about Russian traditions. Turns out that in Russia, beer has no foam and Russians bring a dried fish, put it inside the beer mug and whip the beer with it until a thick foam is formed. Quite a surprise to all of us! They told us about the Russian Madonna, the singer named Alla Pugacheva, while playing samples of her songs. Mirka and Linda taught to us survival Russian and danced a typical Russian dance. They even wore Russian furs! It was so exciting that some students joined in! On top of everything, we sampled a few scrumptious �pelmeni� (Russian meat-filled dumplings).
George and Peter prepared a presentation about Hungary. They told us that the Hungarian language is actually related to the Finnish and Turk languages. We also found out a few facts about the Hungarian tribes. Besides, they played a Hungarian folk song, taught us how to sing it and, finally, we sang it all together. The sounds of the fiddle, a typical Hungarian string musical instrument, were so heartfelt that we almost started dancing. At the end of their presentation, Peter and George treated us to Halaszle, a famous spicy Hungarian fish soup, which had been prepared by George�s father. He told us the recipe of the soup, too. It was truly more of a �pleasantation� other than presentation.
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