Deaf Culture

Deaf culture is essentially a community that is brought together through the association of deafness and the use of American Sign Language, otherwise abbreviated as ASL. When I was in college, I received the opportunity to intern at an institution that embraced this culture with open arms. This place is called Helen Keller National Center. For those of you who do not know who Helen Keller is, she was the first blind-deaf person to earn a Bachelor of Arts. She was quite brilliant especially given her limitations. The one thing I love about her story is that she never gave up. She pushed herself to stay determined in her studies and really tried her best to reach her full potential. Her success has been shared in schools across the world. In effect, she proves to be a role model to many. Helen Keller National Center praises her accomplishments and declares a mission to assist others who are apart of the culture. One of many classes held at this center is American Sign Language. This is a language that is communicated through the movement of one’s hands. Personally, I find this to be one of the most beautiful languages. When communicating, it appears as though one’s hands are performing their own dance routine, one act after the other. It is simply mesmerizing to watch. During my stay, I had the most amazing experience. I was not only able to learn a little bit of ASL but also to gain a different perspective on this culture.

Vocabulary:

association (noun) – a connection or link

abbreviated (verb) – to shorten

intern (noun) – a student who works to gain experience

institution (noun) – a place with a particular purpose

Bachelor of Arts (noun) – a college degree in liberal arts

potential (noun) – abilities that lead to future success

mesmerizing (verb) – to hold the attention of

perspective (noun) – a point of view

Vocabulary Exercise:

1. association                                          a. a student who works to gain experience

2. abbreviate                                           b. a college degree in liberal arts

3. intern                                                  c.to hold the attention of

4. institution                                           d. to shorten

5. Bachelor of Arts                                 e. abilities that lead to future success

6. potential                                              f. a connection or link

7. mesmerizing                                       g. a point of view

8. perspective                                          h. a place with a particular purpose

Grammar Point: A proper noun is a name used for an individual person, place, or organization. Proper nouns are always spelled with initial capital letters. The passage above has a few examples such as Helen Keller, Helen Keller National Center, and American Sign Language. Please list 6 proper nouns. Use each listed noun within a complete sentence.

"Braciola"

One meal typical to the Italian culture is known as "braciola," often served in accompaniment of pasta and homemade tomato sauce. This Sunday necessity entails a large thinly sliced piece of meat, stuffed with goodness and all tied up. Coming from an Italian family, we don't typically give out our recipes but before I start salivating...here's what you need:

Ingredients:
1                  Beef "top round cut for braciola"
1/2 cup        Bread crumbs
1/2 cup        Grated cheese
1/4 cup        Plum tomatos (in pieces)
4                  Eggs
2                  Scallions (chopped)
1/8 cup        Golden Raisins
1/8 cup        Pignoli Nuts
dash             Pepper
3 leaves       Basil (chopped)
24 inches     Cooking string
2 tbsp           Olive Oil
1 can          Tomato Sauce

Directions:
It is important to initially prepare your ingredients. I advise to first hard boil 2 of the eggs so that once they are finished, they can be placed aside to cool off before using. Cut the tomatoes in pieces, chop the scallions, and the basil. This will allow for better organization once the ingredients are needed. The "main act" of this dish is the stuffing. It is actually quite simple. To begin, combine the bread crumbs, cheese, tomato pieces, 2 eggs, and half of the chopped scallions. Mix until all components are integrated into a moist consistency. Then, add the raisins, pignoli nuts, basil and pepper. Mix again. Place the meat on a dish where it is easily accessible... and get ready to get dirty! Lay the stuffing mixture directly in the center of the cut meat. Once all of the stuffing is placed down, cut the hard boiled eggs in half and lay them on top of the stuffing mixture. Grab the sides of the meat and fold them over the mixture, making sure that none of the stuffing is sticking out. Take the cooking string and wrap the meat in a circular motion, tying the ends together.

I advise washing your hands before continuing.

Take out a large pot, add remaining scallions and olive oil, bringing the heat to a medium flame. Add the braciola to the pot and sear. Once browned, add the sauce and bring to a boil.
After this step is completed, take the cooked meat out and place it on a plate where it cool. After about 5 minutes, slice the meat vertically so that the resulting shape is one similar to circles. Douse in tomato sauce.

BUON APPETITO!


Vocabulary:
accompaniment (noun) - something that compliments something else
salivating (verb) - to secrete saliva in anticipation of food
"main act" (noun) - the most important part
integrated (verb) - combined
consistency (noun) - the way a substance holds together
douse (verb) - to pour over in large amounts
buon appetito (phrase) - Meaning " have a good eat" in the Italian language

Vocabulary Exercise:
Use this word puzzle to look for the above vocabulary words.

Grammar Point:

Most recipe instructions are written in imperative form. This means that the sentences are composed in a commanding manner. Some examples include, "Cut the tomatoes" or "Mix the ingredients." Notice, there is no specified subject in either of these sentences. There is an imaginary, implied "You" that the command is being directed to. Using this knowledge please compose four sentences in the imperative form.  

The Love of Cooking

Growing up, I was always in the kitchen with my grandmother. Many profess, “My grandma is the best cook!” Well, this statement is definitely validated once tasting any of my grandmother’s savory dishes. She just has an innate way of combining ingredients that simply makes your taste buds explode! Eating food that good makes it very hard to stop. It feels as though each piece is screaming, “Eat me! Eat me!” as if your stomach is a bottomless pit, being stuffed “to infinity and beyond!” 

My whole life, I have attempted to recreate her wonderful recipes but I could never produce an exact replica. Often times I have thought, “It’s good, but it’s not like grandma’s.” I’ve realized that I have been missing a fundamental ingredient: love. Every dish my grandmother creates is made out of affection. She doesn’t cook to flaunt her abilities but to nourish the bodies of her loved ones. Creating her masterpieces signifies a particular message. Each meal is like a love letter that expresses all the warmth and happiness she feels when she thinks of us, wrapped up, and sealed with perfection. To my grandmother, feeding our family is her art. It is her modality used to explore her creativity and most importantly, share her passion.

Vocabulary:

validate (verb) - to prove correct

savory (adjective) - having a pleasant taste or smell

innate (adjective) - natural

“To infinity and beyond!” (prepositional phrase) - a quote from the movie Toy Story; going past the thinkable world

replica (noun) - copy

fundamental (adjective) - necessary, important

flaunt (verb) - to show off

nourish (verb) - provide food for growth and health

signifies (verb) - to mean something
modality (noun) - mode, way

Vocabulary Exercise: Match the correct vocabulary word to its definition. 

1. validate                                                           a. provide food for growth and heath

2. savory                                                             b. copy

3. innate                                                              c. mode, way

4. to infinity and beyond                                     d. to mean something

5. replica                                                             e. having a pleasant taste or smell

6. fundamental                                                    f. natural

7. flaunt                                                               g. going past the thinkable world

8. nourish                                                            h. to show off

9. signifies                                                           i. to prove correct

10. modality                                                        j. necessary, important

Grammar Point: Quotations represent words spoken, or written, by someone typically other than the writer. The passage above uses this literary technique often. For example: Many profess, “My grandma is the best cook!”  There are a few important grammar points to keep in mind when writing a sentence with a quotation. Notice, a comma is placed before the opening quotation mark, the sentence within the quotation marks starts with a capital letter, and the punctuation is placed before the ending quotation mark. Using this knowledge, please properly compose four sentences with quotations.