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Others' Ways No Longer So Foreign

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By PAUL CATALA, Tribune correspondent

Published: February 16, 2008

Updated: 02/14/2008 03:23 pm

THONOTOSASSA - The classroom lessons and celebration expanded notions of East Asian culture held by some students beyond egg rolls and kung fu movies.

About 175 sixth-graders at Terrace Community Middle School gathered Feb. 8 to take part in the school's second East Asian New Year's Celebration, a day of intricate artwork, fanciful dancing and a picture trip through the Far East, as well as the culmination of lessons on Asian history and culture.

It had been planned as a celebration of the Chinese New Year, but school administrators wanted to recognize that other Asian countries were represented at the charter school and renamed the celebration to include countries such as South Korea, Japan and Vietnam.

The celebration began in the gymnasium, where history teacher Rixie Burroughs introduced Raymond Hu, principal of the Tampa Chinese School. Hu, who's originally from Taiwan, presented a slide show of Chinese landmarks, which included the Great Wall, the Terracotta Army, the Hong Kong skyline and Beijing Summer Palace.

Following the slides, Burroughs introduced Terrace Community sixth-graders Jackie Collier, 12, and Lynn Chen, 9, who played a traditional Chinese tune, "Dragon Song," on violins. Hu explained how important music is in East Asian cultures and how some of the instruments played in the West, such as zithers and lutes, have origins in Asia.

"I think when kids get to see things from different countries, it's very good. The world is getting smaller with technology, and there is a very diverse population in this area," he said.

After an exhibition of calls, positions and sparring by students from an Oldsmar tae kwon do school, a costumed, colorful lion dance was performed. As students guided an adorned, fierce-faced paper lion around the gymnasium, four children played traditional percussion instruments.

Ping Chen, an artist from Riverview, drew a crowd of students, showing traditional Chinese art she and her mother had made. As she spoke, her father, Yang Chan, demonstrated Chinese calligraphy.

As he held up his sign, Chan asked a question: "What does it say? It says, 'Sun nien fai lok.' " That's 'Happy New Year.' " The children repeated the phrase.

Chan finished ink artwork of a rooster and an eagle as students swarmed around the table.

Nathan Fugleberg, 12, watched and said it was fun to see some of his lessons come to life at the East Asian New Year's Celebration.

"It was fun to learn how to say things in Chinese and studying the cultures," he said. "I didn't know they invented the kite. That's cool."

The day ended with a Chinese kite-flying exhibition and a lunch of sweet and sour chicken, lo mein and, of course, egg rolls.

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