THE ELC NEWS

A Publication by and for Students of the English Language Center, Old Dominion University
April 2010—Spring II

An ELC Mascot?
Tetsu Nakamura, Adv. II

I had a question for an ODU student: “Why

This session, Adv. II students Haeryong, Jingu, Jinhye (Korea) and Meshari (Saudi Arabia) met with
Lu Cai (Adv. I, China) and Claire Hsia (UP, Taiwan) about their Spring Break adventures.
Lu went to China just to meet her friends,
grandparents, and uncle. She ate many tradi-
tional Chinese foods, such as kungpao chicken
from Sichuan, and dumplings because she had
really missed them.
She traveled to some places nearby her home-
town, Shanghai, such as the Shanghai Tower,
called Dongfangmingzhu, Shanghai museum,
and the Huangpu River.
Kungpao Chicken
Lu said that if you have plan to go to Shang-
hai, be prepared to spend some money (about
$2100 a week) and it's better to take subway
for touring.
do American students wear clothes with
their school logo on it?” That girl told me
one word: “represent.” Because there are
not many Japanese students that wear
school logos on their clothes, I wondered
about it a lot. It seemed to me that they
wore it for the sake of their love for the
school.
I thought, “Why does the ELC not have its
own original logos and mascots?” I am an
ELC student, not an ODU student. I also
have no intention of going to ODU. (Lots of
other students do not feel like going to
ODU either.) So, I do not feel like wearing
clothes with that logo on it. I am perhaps
one of the students that has stayed in the
ELC the longest at this point. Since my love
for the ELC is of considerable amount, I
want something which allows me to ex-
press my school love, like that girl I men-
tioned. I didn’t think anyone would attempt
to make one in the future, so I decided to
make one myself.

Dongfangmingzhu (Shanghai)

Claire went back to her hometown in Taiwan.

She hung out with her friends and family.
She went to the sea for swimming and a
karaoke to sing several popular songs.

Particularly, she had a Lady Gaga-themed

party with her lovely friends—they wore cos-
tumes like the popular American singer Lady
Gaga. She recalled it was really a silly, but
fun party.
She then went to "Taipei 101", which is a
very famous tower in Taiwan, with her dogs.
She advised us: "If you want to pay a visit to
Taiwan, I want to recommend you eat the
traditional food, called Chu Tofu. Also, you
can take a week-long trip or about $2000."
She added that Taiwan is one of the greatest
islands, and welcome to Taiwan.
Kenting National Park (Taiwan)
Taipei 101 (Taiwan)
Explanation of this mascot: First of all,
this mascot is a cat who is trying to become
a lion. If you ask me why I chose this idea, I
would say that since the ODU mascot is a
lion, I chose the cat, a creature belonging
to the same family as a lion, for the ELC, a
sub-group under ODU. Some ELC students
want to go to ODU, so I decided to imple-
ment this concept of a cat. I drew the lion’s
mane on the cat with a dotted line, mean-
ing that we are almost becoming ODU
students, but not quite.
What do you think? Is the ELC ready for its
own mascot for future newsletters and
other materials?
 Care About Reading! Famous Iranian Food: Kabob
Mohammed AlKhazal (Saudi Arabia) by Amir Emami (Iran)

Kabob is the national dish of

Can't care about reading? Have you ever wondered why people Iran; it is very famous, deli-
read? Some people do it for entertainment. Some do it for learn- cious, and traditional Iranian
ing. Every day you will see people read in buses, offices, and food. This dish served with
houses; everywhere you go, you will see people read. It shouldn't grilled tomatoes, onions,
be a waste of time. Although most of us are not attracted to read- sumac on the side of rice,
ing some book or a newspaper, we are missing a lot from our and butter on top of the rice
lives. But, what exactly are we missing and why? We always like or a mix of saffron and butter
everything to get in our heads without any work or time. We al- on the rice. Kabob is served
everywhere with dough,
ways find ourselves attracted to the easy knowledge (or money). made with sour yogurt, salt
Yes, that's right and true in every way. Can't we start liking to and mint as drink. Also, we have many kinds of
read? Sure we can. We just need to change our criteria. We need kabob: chicken, lamb, and beef. Many people like beef kabob
to realize what we are missing so far. Does it not hurt you when (called kobide) made with ground beef, ground onions, salt, pep-
you find out that you are the one with the least knowledge? It's per, turmeric, and Iranian seasoning.
really simple to use some of our huge spare time to gain some
knowledge, especially in subjects we like. Perhaps, it's time for I would like to explain how you can make kabob for yourself.
us to wake up from our blindness and start to read about some- You need: 1/5 lb. ground beef for 1-2 people; 1 onion, 1 spoon
thing we like. After all, it isn't a waste of time. of salt and pepper, Iranian seasoning, and an egg. You put the
salt, pepper and onion mix with ground beef in a bowl and you
add egg on top of it. All of the ingredients have to stick together
Traditional Punjabi Food: Sarso da Saag and Makki roti because you have to press it on a skewer and then put it on the
by Satbir Kaur (India) grill for 4-5 minutes on each side and then it is ready to serve.
Enjoy!
Traditional Punjabi is famous throughout India and with Indians living
overseas. It’s usually cooked during the winter. Traditionally, saag is
prepared in large quantities to be eaten for a few days. Here are the Come to the Naval Base!
ingredients to help you make one of the famous foods: by Trang Le (Vietnam)

1 ½ lb green curry mustard It was always my

1 ½ lb baby spinach dream to visit the
1/3 cup makki da atta (corn flour) Naval Base. Three
2 teaspoons unsalted butter or ghee months ago, on a
2 teaspoons grated ginger
windy day, my hus-
1 cup chopped onions
1 cup chopped tomatoes band and I went
2 or 3 green chilies with a friend to the
salt base to say good-
bye to her husband.
Wash the green curry mustard and spinach. Chop it very fine and put I’ve always imag-
it in a pressure cooker and add a little water. Cook it for at least half ined what things
an hour. After, mash it with a hand blender. Make sure you don’t were like in movies,
blend it too much; it should be a little thick. After that, put it back on but then I got to see
the stove to simmer and add corn flour until it gets creamy. We also
it in person. As we arrived through the big gates I saw huge ships
make tadka for saag, but it is added to the portion of saag when it is
served. To make the tadka, heat the butter or ghee in a pan. Add the surrounding the harbor. In order for them to allow us in, we have to
ginger and chopped onions. Cook the onions until they turn light show our ID. Once we got in, there were aircraft carriers and much
brown and then add tomatoes and cook them for five minutes. After more, but there was a specific ship that we were looking for; that
that, add the green chilies and salt and set your stove to simmer and was ship number 4. There it was! I couldn’t believe how big it
cook it for 15 minutes. Finally, add the tadka to the serving portion of was; my husband was stunned. In the ship, there was everything
saag. needed for a basic life: a barber shop, prayer room, gym room, li-
brary, and also a dining room. The one thing my friend and I were
For makki roti, put the corn flour into a bowl and then add hot water.
disappointed in was not being able to see the bedroom, but we re-
Mix it until the flour gets thick. Put the pan on the stove. Roll out the
flour round like a ball and then make the roti round with your hand. spected their privacy. The last thing we did was go to the very top
Put the roti in the pan when you think the pan is hot. Cook it for two where the aircraft carriers parked. I felt like an ant standing on the
minutes on both sides, and then it is good to go. parking lot, but it was very exciting. At the end of the tour, I appre-
ciated the soldiers and what they do.

TOEFL is April 28 at 2:00.  Are you on Facebook?  Join the “Old Dominion Univer‐
  sity English Language Center” group and help plan 
Summer I begins May 10.    events, meet and talk with current and former students, 
Registration begins May 5.  and see pictures from all of our events and adventures! 
On March 20, students and faculty
participated in Habitat for Humanity
by helping build a house in Norfolk!

On April 9, we entered KC’s Lion’s Den in

On March 28, we participated in ODU’s
Webb Center for an afternoon of fun, snacks,
International Festival and shared many
and games!
exciting things from our cultures!
Basic: What do you like to do in your free Intermediate: Do you agree or disagree with plastic
time? surgery?

I like shopping, watching TV, and walking to the I disagree with that because we have to use what God
beach. (Rokhaya, Senegal) has given to us. However, certain people need it.
(Olzhas, Kazakhstan)
I like going to the YMCA, watching TV, and
sleeping. (Alaa, Saudi Arabia) I don't agree with it because everyone has some beautiful
aspects, but in special cases, I agree with it, like only if
I play football, go shopping in the mall, and someone had an accident. (Fahad, Saudi Arabia)
sleep sometimes. (Ali, Saudi Arabia)
What is your ideal type of woman?

I want one who likes smiling. (Halim, Turkey)

My ideal girlfriend is the woman who is only honest

and lovely and has soft hair and bright eyes.
(Hammad, Kuwait)

Undergrad Bridge:
What are the advan-
tages and disadvan-
tages of studying Advanced 1: What is the best class in ELC in your opinion? Why?
your major in the
U.S.? Reading. (Adulaziz, Kuwait)
The biggest advantage Free classes because we need
is that I can practice some time to relax. (Mohammad,
my major [civil engi- Kuwait)
neering]. I am allowed
to build stuff, which If you could go back 10 years,
helps me a lot. There what would you want to
are no disadvantages at all. (Fahad, Kuwait) change in your life?
Advantages: There are more sources and advanced knowledge. Disad- I want to be thin. (Mohammad, Saudi Arabia)
vantages: The background of my major is totally different. The language
and culture are different. (Hongxia, China) I want to study English harder than before. I would spend much time
studying rather than playing
Advantages: I can get more experience, the universities are good, and I video games.( Alex, Taiwan)
get a lot of chances to practice. Disadvantages: It’s far away from home,
and there are new cultures and new rules. (Jenjal, Kuwait) I would not start smoking.
(Youngho, Korea)

University Prep: Do you agree or disagree with plastic

surgery?

I agree with plastic surgery, especially for females, be-

Graduate Bridge: If you could go back 10
years, what would you want to change in
your life?
10 years ago, I was a soldier in Korea, so I
would change nothing. But if I have something
to change, I would like to study more, espe-
cially English. (Sangbun, Korea)
Nothing, I want everything to be the same.
(Yakup, Turkey)
cause I’d like to have a beautiful wife. (Khaled, Kuwait)
I agree with plastic surgery if people do it properly—not
too much. If they do plastic surgery too much, it could
show that they’re addicted to plastic surgery. Anyway, they do properly It can be good for them.
(Yeji, Korea)
I agree with some kind of plastic surgery. Not every kind, because when people are constantly
trying to change their appearance, it is only a reflection that they are not satisfied with themselves.
That is why I disagree with the kind of plastic surgery that is used only for cosmetic purposes. How-
ever, the other kind of plastic surgery, for example the one that can be used to help people with
disease, it's something positive. (Maria Gabriela, Panama)

THE ELC NEWSLETTER STAFF:

ADVANCED II WRITING, SPRING II, 2010
JAFAR ALABDULLAH, KHALID ALASSAF, MOHAMMED ALKHAZAL, MESHARI ALOTAIBI, BADER AL RANDI, SULAIMAN ALRUMAYH, RASHED ALSUBAIE,
AMIR EMAMI, JUEUN HWANG, SATBIR KAUR, TRANG LE, JINGU LEE, TETSU NAKAMURA, HAERYONG PARK, JIHOON PARK, CHAU PHAM, HYO JUNG SHIN,
YADI TANG, JING YANG, JINHYE YOON
EDITOR: JAMIE STURGES
PHOTOS AND PICTURES: TETSU NAKAMURA, BETTYE HUSSEY, LAURA RAY, SULAIMAN ALRUMAYH, CHAU PHAM, JUEUN HWANG, AND HYO JUNG SHIN