Tales from the Huffmans

                                                                                  by Kathy Li

Today’s blog was written by a much younger, and quite special, person, whom Don and I enjoy very much.  She would like to share a special experience with other people. 

 

My name is Kathy Li. I was born in Hangzhou, China, but I’ve lived in the U.S. for six years.  I am 11 years old and I will be a 6^th grade student in the fall.  I usually spend my summers with my honorary grandparents¹ in Pella, Iowa.  (Don and Maxine Huffman)

 

 Last year and this year I attended Dutch Day Camp² in the Pella Historical Village³.  Last summer I learned about the Dutch in the Netherlands⁴.  I also learned to speak a little bit of Dutch and we played lots of Dutch games.  This year we learned about how the Dutch came to Iowa and settled⁵ in Pella.  Mrs. Zylstra teaches the day camp and she is also a 5^th grade teacher.  Her ancestors⁶ helped settle Pella.  She planned a lot of fun activities⁷ for us and we learned a lot.  We toured⁸ the Dutch windmill⁹ that I have visited several times before but I have learned something new every time.  Mrs. Zylstra wanted us to do some research on Pella to see if it was more Dutch or more American.  My grandpa and I did a survey¹⁰ about Dutch names and non-Dutch names.  We found that Pella is still heavily populated with people of Dutch ancesrtry¹¹. 

 

This will be the last time I attend Dutch Day camp because next year I will be too old for it.  Besides I will be visiting my Grandma Sheng¹² in Hangzhou next summer.  I have forgotten how to speak Chinese.  I am hoping that Grandma Sheng will help me learn it again.  But I will always have good memories¹³ of Pella and Dutch Day Camp. 

 

Notes:

1. honorary grandparents: a title for extended family individuals of about the age of one’s own biological family who one elects and honors by calling them Grandfather and/or Grandmother (干爷爷/外公，干奶奶/外婆).

2. Dutch Day Camp: a vacation period educational activity held in Pella, Iowa, which teaches children about the customs and culture of Dutch people who have immigrated from the Netherlands and established homes in Pella.

3. Pella Historical Village: a large museum consisting of many buildings which exhibit the architectural, historical, and cultural background of Pella (派拉历史博物馆).

4. Netherlands: the country often called Holland which is located in northwest Europe (荷兰).

5. settled: established homes and a community (定居).

6. ancestors: 祖先

7. fun activities: enjoyable pastimes such as games, music, dancing, art, etc.

8. toured: traveled as a group, or go through a specific area of interest (参观).

9. Dutch Windmill: 荷兰风磨坊

10. survey: a collection of data for the analysis of some aspect of a group or area (调查).

11. ancestry: the members of one’s family who lived a long time ago (祖先).

12. Grandma Sheng: Kathy’s biological grandmother who lives in China (Kathy住在中国的亲外婆).

13. Hangzhou: a city in Zhejiang Province, People’s Republic of China, where Sheng lives.

14. memories n. things from the past which one remembers (记住的事物).

 

 

This entry was posted on Friday, March 20th, 2009 at 9:49 am and is filed under Clubs and Small Groups, Organizations. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.