When a new life begins,
Or when a year is obtained,
A long-life noodle will be made.
The longer the noodle,
The longer the life.
Prosperity and abundance by your side
When the Spring Festival arrives,
And friends and families reunite,
Boiled dumplings will be made.
Farewell to the old & welcome in the new,
As dumplings are filled with coins.
When the Mid-Autumn Festival arrives,
And when the moon covers the sky,
The mooncake will complement the sky.
Roundness will symbolize completeness,
As friends and families sit side by side.
Prosperity and reunion, togetherness.
- I chose to imitate Rhapsody on Pasta.
- I chose Rhapsody on Pasta because I really enjoyed how the author connected a specific type of noodle to a particular season. This inspired my poem as I too connected a specific noodle to a particular tradition in Chinese culture.
- The culture of the original author is astounding. The author is definitely experienced when it comes to the different types of noodles, their uses, and the way noodles are cooked. The author gives us his honest opinion from his experience as to what noodle is best served during each season. The audience can infer this from his choice of word and imagery as it portrays his personal emotions. Although the author makes suggestions, he is not demanding and sends a message that it is alright if noodles are not eaten at specific seasons. Noodles are meant to be enjoyed.
- As I came up with the topic of my poem on specific pasta, I realized how before taking this class, I was one of the people that didn’t think much of pasta and took it for granted. I have become aware now that I have had pasta many times in my life. One of my favorites is instant ramen! Although I love instant ramen, I now yearn for the authentic ramen I have seen many times on food animations. There is something about the colorful display of miso ramen that speaks strongly about culture.
- There is definitely cultural DNA embedded in the piece I read and in the piece I wrote. Culture manifests in the piece I read by the author’s sharing of Chinese noodles to eat at particular seasons. This tells us that each noodle and each way it is cooked has a particular purpose. For example, the boiled dumpling in his piece serves to warm the body against the cold of the winter. In my piece, I included cultural Chinese traditions that have been practiced for many years and are deeply rooted in their culture. These types of tradition are what identify a culture and separate it from the rest.