Monday, May 30, 2011

Day 4 - A day of DIY!

After a hearty breakfast, we made our way to Tsou Cultural Village. The children were awed by the sights along the way, but what made them really excited was being able to try their hands at different activities. Sharing some highlights:

The children put on their gloves in preparation for making their own 爱玉. 


Listening to some information about how  爱玉子 is collected.

The children had to rub the bag of  爱玉子 vigorously for at least 10 minutes.

More rubbing...

While waiting for the  爱玉 mixture to set, we tucked into a hearty traditional meal. 
Picture shows smoked bamboo rice.

After the lunch, we headed over to the ancient tribal meeting grounds for a brief history of the tribe.

Trying on the symbol of an accomplished hunter.

Bing Yang trying it on as well.

The children were really excited to make their own bird-chaser; a traditional contraption for shooing birds away from crops.When it is swung, it produces a sound, ranging from buzzing to whooping (depending on how hard it is swung)

Of course, they were supervised by the accompanying parents and teachers as they needed to shave their bamboo pieces with penknives.

Success! The children ran off happily to try out their new "toy".

Everyone was extremely immersed in their new role as "bird-chaser" ...

Some tried to calibrate their contraption...

Next stop: Alishan coffee place/coffee arthouse (阿将的家). The children loved the relaxing ambiance and listened raptly to Mr and Mrs Jiang. (^_^)


The children got to try their hand in the various stages of coffee-production.
Stage 1: Pounding the beans

Stage 2: Sifting the beans

Mr Jiang demonstrating the sifting.

The children were in for a yummy treat as the Jiangs showed their warm hospitality by treating the children to tea time snacks of candy, lollipops, cakes, crackers and beverages.

Next stage: roasting the beans

The children enjoyed themselves tremendously and all had an early night's rest as they had to wake up early the next day.
Cheers,
Miss R. Lim
(on behalf of the teachers)

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