Monthly Archives: February 2024

• For Wednesday, February 28th, read Michael Pollan’s article “Power Steer”. Mark three passages (one or two sentences) in the text that seem to you to be interesting, important, or worthy of discussion. Have a hard copy of the article with you in class on Monday, with the quotes you’ve selected identified.

• Using Sam Anderson’s “I Recommend Eating Chips”, create your own “I Recommend…” post and share it to the blog before Wednesday’s class. Your post should be 400- 500 words and should be shared as a new post, not as a comment on this post.  Remember that this piece is an opportunity to be playful and exploratory.   Let curiosity be your guide.  What’s in your chosen food? Where does it come from? Who invented it? How did it find its way to you? What does it look like?  How/where/when did you first encounter it?  What’s it like to eat this food? How does it make you feel? How does it figure into your story, your life, your identity, your routine???  Be creative! If you feel stuck, I suggest doing some Googling to see what interesting things you might learn about your chosen food.  Please share your post on the blog together with an accompanying image (again, feel free to select whatever seems right to you!) by Sunday, March 3rd.

• Revised Drafts are due on Monday, February 19th. Submit your draft by placing it in a Google Docs folder that you have shared with me at jsylvor@gmail.com. The folder should have the name: Your Name English 2150. Your revised draft should be in a file that is named “Personal Narrative – Revised Draft”. I must have a revised draft of your essay to review in advance of your scheduled conference. Your revised draft should be substantially different from the draft you brought with you to class on February 14th.
• No Class on February 19th. College is closed for Presidents’ Day.
• Wednesday 2/21 and Thursday 2/22 – Conferences. You will be meeting with me in your small peer review groups to discuss your Personal Narratives. The purpose of these conferences is to get feedback on your revised draft. You need to have a revised draft in order to attend your conference. These conferences will take place in our regular classroom instead of our regular class. I have posted the schedule below. As you can see, we have a very tight schedule, so please be prompt. Bring a hard copy of your Revised Draft with you to the conference.
• Sunday, February 25th – Finished essays are due! Please follow the instructions on the assignment sheet for naming your file and submitting the essay.
• Please reach out to me via email if you have any questions about any of this or if you want to get any additional feedback or advice about your essays. I am looking forward to our conferences and to reading your essays!

Schedule

Wednesday, February 21st

12:25 – 12:50: Jeff, Arlene, Christopher

12:50 – 1:15: Kimberly, David, Steven

1:15 – 1:40: Zihao, Ramon, Gabriel

1:40 – 2:05: Stephanie, Brandon, Argenise

Thursday, February 22nd

12:25 – 12:55: Alexander, Ayah, Kevin X., Marcus

12:55 – 1:20: Matthew, Kevin G., Helen

1:20 – 1:45: Samin, Angel

One memory that sticks out the most for me is my family going to eat Peruvian food. It would be tradition for us to go to a Peruvian restaurant once a month. It would be even more special when a relative came with us. They would have to be unfamiliar with the menu, as there is a dish called Anticuchos, which is cow heart. When the dish comes to the table, me and my family wait in anticipation for our family members to try it, and after they swallow it, we tell them it was cow heart. I remember my aunt who came from Ecuador tried it and liked it, but once we told her that it was cow heart, she was shocked that she was eating it, but after that came to terms with how good it tasted so. This memory was fun because every time I eat anticuchos now, it takes me back to those carefree days of childhood, and it gives me a sense of nostalgia which I love.

A meal that I’ll always remember is one that I had at my soviet day-care for lunch. After nap time, they’d often serve us a dessert called Zapikanka, a Ukrainian cheesecake which consists of farmer’s cheese, pasta, eggs, sugar, as well as raisins or other fruit. It’d always make my day when I would peek into my daycare’s kitchen and smell the aroma of vanilla powder and pasta being baked. Once in a while my parents would make it at home too.

The meal that my mom would always make for me until this day is rice and ground beef mixed with vegetables all the time since I was little. She would make black beans with rice, yellow rice or brown rice. Always in that same rotation. She would also mix it up with either sweet plantain or tostones which would always add to the rice even more. She always added this sazon goya seasoning to the meat which made it taste that much better.  She also got this cheese called Queso de hoja which she would always get when she went to the Dominican Republic from my aunt every year. I would always enjoy that on the side or as a snack because I always had it when my mom used to take me there almost every year when I was younger. Especially when it is deep fried it probably is one of the best snacks I’ve ever had. Even though my moms family didn’t have much over there they always showed me a good time and the food that they served was always good.

• Baruch is closed on Monday, February 12th – NO CLASS
• Wednesday, Feb. 14th – Drafts Due! Please come to class with 3 hard copies of your Personal Narrative. It is ok if your draft is unfinished, but it is essential that you come to class prepared to share your work.
• If you have any questions about this assignment, feel free to reach out via email. You can also find a copy of the assignment at the top of the blog, under the “essays” tab.
• Use this long weekend to catch up on any assignments you may not have completed from our first two weeks.

It’ll always get really cold around where I was from in China. We didn’t have heaters and sometimes even hot water isn’t readily accessible, so the only real way to keep ourselves warm was with a hot meal. The rice is steamed in a special ceramic pot, then the toppings are added when the rice is almost done cooking. Next to the main dish is an egg soup with pickled vegetables. It’s nothing too crazy but it’s definitely a comfort meal. It was pretty cold out recently as well so my mom decided to make it again. I helped her out with the meal preparations. Although we have heaters and hot water readily available now. Nothing compares to the warmth of taking that first bite.

This might be very basic but a meal that I always had in mind was egg fried rice, nothing crazy just scrambled eggs and rice mixed together with a savory taste. I remember when I was a kid I used to love egg fried rice, I was very picky and didn’t like any green onions or anything else besides eggs. I would come home every day from school and my parents would be out for work but my grandpa would be home. He would come downstairs to make egg-fried rice almost every day for me to eat and I would smell the burst of umami coming out of the kitchen making me salivate. It was the best fried rice that I’ve ever had. This particular dish is extremely significant to me because ever since I immigrated to America I have never had the chance to eat my grandpa’s egg fried rice anymore. We would face-time each other from time to time and he would always ask if I was going back to visit. I would always say when I go back I want to eat egg fried rice that my grandpa makes.

During my trip to Malaysia, I met my dad’s side of the family for the first time. We spent majority of the time eating together and experiencing the taste of real authentic Malaysian food. As we walked down the night markets to that were filled with stands selling street food, my stomach started to rumble. We spent countless hours sharing the experience of trying new food. The the smell of the fresh curry noddles and milk tea was what brought joy to me. Not only did I have the pleasure of visiting my relatives, I was able to connect with them through our cultures food.

The best type of food is where it is at a affordable rate while also filling you up for the day, one food comes to mind is maruchan soup. I am pretty sure one pack is worth 50 cents. In today’s word especially in New York, it is rare to see food that is less than 5 bucks. I remember when I was young and walking the supermarket halls and always see the 6 pack cup on the bottom shelf. My mother would always get it. Many years pasted by and till this day eat this before a long day.