What Am I Good At? Issue 14 Home Page

Photo: Shen Yu's husband When friends or guests came to my home, I cooked food for them. They told me they liked all of my cooking. How I Became Good at Cooking Shen Yu from China When other people ask me what I am good at, I often need to think a long time and I ask myself, "What am I good at?" I like a lot of things, but I'm not good at anything. I like music, but I can't sing. I often sing out of tune, and my friends laugh at me. They say, "When you sing a song, the tune still stays in China, but your music goes to America." I like embroidery and sewing. When I got married, I embroidered and sewed all of my clothes, but no one told me, "That's very good." I like Chinese handwriting. When I studied in the university, I won a prize for my studies, but after that time, I never wrote things again; all things I forgot. In China, I liked cooking, but in my family everyone told me, "Your food doesn't taste good, no one likes your cooking." If I had to cook, my parents would say, "You have cooked the food enough for us. Don't cook so much. We will cook next time." I like to do all these things, but I am not better than other people when I do them, so I don't know what I am good at. Photo from Shen Yu Shen Yu and her husband getting ready to serve food to friends. Now I am in America, and my husband is very busy. He rarely cooks food, so I have to cook every day. Sometimes my friends or my husband's friends come to my home. When I cook Chinese food for them, they say, "Your food is delicious. I have never eaten it in America." This gives me encouragement. I try to cook different foods and many kinds of Chinese food. I can cook dumplings, spring rolls, moon cake, zong-zi, and others. I never cooked these in China. I try to use oven to bake cakes and to make sandwiches. When I bring my food to school, my teachers and my classmates often tell me, "Your food is very delicious." When friends or guests come to my home, I cook food for them. They tell me they like all of my cooking. So after my husband and I came to America, my husband became fat. He tells me, "You cook food that is delicious. I like it and eat too much, so I become fat." When my friend Tracy came to my home, I told her, "If you live in my home, you will become fat." Now Tracy says, "I'm heavier than before. So now, if you ask me what I am good at, I will say cooking. More "good at" stories: I Sang With All My Heart! | I'm Good at Organizing Return to: What Am I Good At? | Issue 14 | Home Page TOPICS Online Magazine - ©1997-2007 - Sandy and Thomas Peters - topics.mag@gmail.com