Learning Circle

This year our school has taken part in an internet project.Several English classes of the tenth grade have been in contact with other schools all over the world.

English class 10.5/6 has been in Circle “Places and Perspectives” Twelve schools from different countries like Argentina, Philippine, Russia, Indonesia, Iran and India.Active till the end have only been three schools: one in Jakarta, Indonesia, one from Teheran, Iran and another one from Kashan, Iran.

At first we introduced ourselves and our school. These texts we sent to all of the schools who had applied. Every student introduced himself in English (“I About myself”), reported about his hometown (“My Hometown”) and –of course- about our school (“RBG - My School”).

We also made an Homepage with a compilation of our reports and pictures of all the students. (http://www.learning-circle.de.hm/).

After a debate in class and a vote we opted for the sponsored theme „Holidays and Meals“.

For that we wrote several texts about our important holidays (festivities) like Christmas, New Years Eve, Easter and the most favourite meals at that days. (For Christmas most of us have roasted goose with read cabbage and potato dumplings).

For that sponsored theme only those three schools mentioned above answered.

Jakarta sent us a long catalogue of questions concerning superstition.

“Learning Circle Group : Places and PerspectivesSponsoring Teacher : Ira Damayanti Fasa

Sponsor School : Labschool Senior High, Jakarta IndonesiaName of Project : Do You Believe in Superstition? Goal of the Project : The students just watched Grunge 2 starred by Sarah Michelle Gellar and Amber Tamblyn. I was made collaboratively by artists, director, and producers come from developed countries namely Japan and America . It intrigues the students to find out whether superstition still exists, is practiced, or believed by people in other countries We’ll be very happy to receive the writing on the form of Word document. Pictures, animation, or drawing will be more preferable because we intend to put the whole story in our Learning Circle magazine. The length of article is at least three pages by expectation that you will be able to express any experience of you had related to Superstition.

Here are the questions that hopefully can guide you in retrieving information about Superstition. Because of two reasons, there are 13 numbers of questions here, first because it’s a superstition number. Second because there are 13 students in our class. Now, here are the questions,,,

1. Do you believe in Superstition? Can you explain why? 2. What kind of superstition exists in your country? Can you mention some of them? 3. Have you ever experienced a deja vu? Can you tell us what triggers it to happen? 4. How about reincarnation? Do you also believe in it? Have you met someone who seems to be the reincarnation of someone? 5. Do you believe in Witches and Wizards? Do you think they are around you? Can you give the examples? 6. Have you ever played a superstition games like ouija board? What happened? What did you do? 7. What do you think of UFOs and Bermuda Triangle, are they superstition or science? 8. Do you think black magic like Voodoo really exists? Have you ever seen or heard someone suffered from Voodoo? 9. Do you believe that 13 is an unlucky number? Do you have any prove about it? 10. What do you think of Werewolf and Vampires? Are they preying us? Share your opinion about it.

11. Do you think ghost really exists? Have you ever seen one? What did you do? 12. What do you think of Poltergeist? Can you explain what you think about it? 13. How about exorcism, do you think it really works in getting rid of the sightings?

We realize that we post our project ideas late, so we don’t want to force anybody to respond to the project right away immediately. But, we’ll be very happy if you can submit the respond before December 10. Looking forward to hearing from you, guys... Ira” Teheran fragte zu verschiedenen Themen:über unser Land und Heimatstadt, über das Wetter, über berühmte Schauspieler und Plätze sowie unserer Religion.

Project idea 1:

Students’ names: Mahya & Shohreh & Foroozan

1.Location of your country and your community?2.Size of your country and your community?3. History of your country and your community?4.Who are super stars of your city and country?5.How is the weather in your country and your city?6.How far is it to the sea?7.Was war in your country?8.What is superhuman’s city and country name?9.Explain about your culture?10.How is education in your country?

Project idea 2:

Students’ names:Zahra, Rezvan, Fatemeh, Mahdieh

1- The best shopping street in your country?

What do they have and what can you buy from them? What about costs/prices? Every thing is expensive or cheap?2- About your country’s millionaires? What’s their names and what do they do in your country? And any thing else….3- What are the names of your country’s famous actors?4- What are the things that changed your country?5- What is the history of your communication in your country?

Project idea 3:

Students’ names: maryam ghiyasiyan, mohaddeseh saghazadeh,zeynab hoshyar, shafieh sayyadiyan.

1. How’s the weather in your country ?2. what’s the name of historical places in your country?3. what’s your idea about Iranians?4. what’s your president’s name ?5. what’s the religion in your country? and its practices? How much the people in your country believe in God?6. What is the role of God in your life?

We have received Welcome Pakets from Slowenia, Taiwan and Nepal. In those pakets or letters have been Cds, Postcards and brochures as well as a Power Point Presentation about Slowenia.

And everything in English!

Fabian R/Christoph R 10.5

The Classroom Survey --Getting to Know You!

Circle Name: Places and PerspectivesClass Name: 10.5

PART I. INTRODUCING THE CLASS

A. Name of teacher: Hartmut Kreutzer-Papenbrock

B. Grade level: 10

C. Class favorites (List your class top 5 favorites in each category):

1. Music groups:

Curse, Blink 182, Eminem; Bushido, Linkin Park

2. Authors: Benjamin Lebert, Walter Moers, Ptrick Suesskind, J.K.Rowling, Dan Brown/Astrid Lindgren

3. TV programs: Simpsons, King of Queens, Sponge Bob, South Park, Desperate Housewives

4. Foods: Lettuce, Pizza, Ice cream, Kebab, Hamburger

5. School subjects: the breaks, English, Arts, Sports,German

6. Sports: swimming, badminton, dancing, jogging, wrestling

7. Video or computer games: NFS, Sing Star, CS, Erotic, Diablo

PART II. INTRODUCING THE SCHOOL

A. School information

1. Name and address of class and schoolRobert-Bosch-Comprehensive School, Richthofenstraße37 D 31137 Hildesheim Germany

2. Number of students in class and school: in Mr Kreutzer‘s English class there are 23 students; in school about 1,300

3. Size of school: grades 5-10: 6 groups per grade, about 28 students each group; grades 11-13: 5-4 groups per grade with roughly 25 students. The school has 8 buildings altogether, one big sports field, two small ones; no indoor or outdoor pool

4. School emblem: three intertwined Gs: standing for the traditional different types of school in Germany (grammar/middle/secondary modern) now combined in one comprehensive school for all abilities.

5. Type and number of computers: four special computer rooms with about 16 machines each; all with access to the internet; several in other rooms as well with or without internet access.

6. School history:

founded in 1970 as the first (and only) comprehensive school in Hildesheim -which boasts to have some very old school: three are over 150 years old, two even have been founded almost 800 resp. 1,100 years ago. Therefor we had a rough start but attracted several hundred students each years. Even today we have more applications than places (only 180 new students are admitted each August).

B. School program

1. List 3 things about your school program that make it unique.  lessons run from 8 am to 3.30 pm (German schools usually finish at 1pm - students then have to work at home s studying for school for 2-3 hour) The RBG has got study periods in school.

Every year the students of the eighth grades go to Denmark and learn there on a small island - we sleep in sleeping bags in tents, we do kind of scientific research with microscopes and so on. School has been awarded several prices for that project.

Since over 25 years the RBG is a UNESCO project school: we emphasis international and ecological understanding and improvements: contacts with schools in Tansania, Russia, Poland, France, Israel and much more.

2. List school calendar from the session dates (holidays and specialevents that may affect your participation).

From Monday October 16 to Friday October 27 we will have our autumn holidays (or fall vacancies): in former times children had to help their parents to bring in the potatoes and so on. But today (in a post industrialised era) we just relax e.g. many families travel to the south, to Spain or Italy for example.

Christmas holidays (or as some prefer to call it: winter recess) is from December 22 to January 6, 2007.

PART III. INTRODUCING THE COMMUNITY

A. Your community

1. Name of your community: Hildesheim has been a town since over 1,100 years by now.

2. If not a city, name and size of nearest city: on a map you will find it south of Hannover, the capital of Lower Saxony with about 400,000 inhabitants in the city and about 1,000,000 in the whole region.

3. Location of your community: at the river Innerste, right at the border between the North German Plains and the Central German Uplands. It is part of the state of Lower Saxony, which is part of the Federal Republic of Germany

4. The area of your community: the mountains in the south are not really high; some 130 or 240 meters, but most of them are covered with trees: beech, spruce, pine, birch, oaks, and others.The north and east is flat with only small forests and many small villages

5. The population of your community:

in the town the population is about 107,000 registered people (but because of two universities and two adult colleges you have to add about 6,to 7,000 students).

B. Special characteristics

1. List 3 reasons why people come to visit your area: - St.Michel‘s church: over 1,000 years old with a beautiful wooden ceiling is one of the UNESCI world cultural heritages;

the Roman-Catholic St. Mary Cathedral with the invaluable bronce doors, candelabers and bronce column of bishop Bernward, made about 1,000 years ago, is another part of the UNESCO world cultural hertage;

the old market place with the nice buthcers‘ guild hall (KnochenhauerAmtshaus)

The Roemer-Pelizaeus-Museum with a fine collection of Egyptian ancient art. 2. Describe any unusual land formation found in or near your community.In the south we have a RED MOUNTAIN -the earth there is really red (because of iron)There are some deep earth falls, some filled with water (because some of the mountains are washed out limestone mountains and in some parts they just gave in).

The country to the north and east is rather flat (because of the ice ages 100,000 years ago) and very good farmland: the farmers grow sugar beets and wheat there.

C. Industries

List major industries or occupations in your community.Bosch produces car starters and other equipment for the car industryBlaupunkt (a division of Bosch) produces GPS-navigators (global positioning system) -again for the car industry.

Kloth-Senking casts parts for the car industry

Class 10.5 of Mr Kreutzer in Hildesheim Germany

Our request about holidays and special meals

Von:  "Hartmut Kreutzer" <hartmut.kreutzer@rbg-hi.de>

An:  iearn-pph1@lists.iearn.org, learning.circle.10.5@rbg-hi.de

Montag, 30. Oktober 2006, 22:11:09

Dear people all over the world,

We have some questions to you about your holidays and your special meals on those holidays.

What are the names of your holidays? When are these holidays and what do you celebrate on these days? Have you any traditions related to these days?

Do you have a special meal for your holidays?What do you need for this meal and how do you prepare it?

To give you an idea what we like you to send us in your respond:

We here in Germany have a lot of holidays.

New Year, Good Friday, Easter Sunday, Easter Monday, May Day, Ascension Day, Pentecost (Sunday and Monday), National Day of the German Unification, Christmas Day and the second Christmas Day (in Britain: Boxingday).

Basically most of them are traditionally Christian holidays as most Germans are Christians.Therefore Christmas is the most important holiday in Germany.

But my family and I celebrate only three ones: New Years Eve, Eastern and Christmas.

At New Years Eve we have a big firework to celebrate the arrival of the New Year. On this day we eat raclette. Raclette is a little cooker on the table. You have little skillets where you put mushrooms, meat, potatoes or some other ingredients like tuna, bacon, onions, pineapple. Then you cover it with a slice of cheese and put it on the cooker to prepare.  

For Eastern we do have some traditions. We eat (brightly coloured) eggs and the little children search for little surprises in the garden. (The parents have hidden those surprises but they claim: “That was the Easter bunny! He has hidden the presents for you!”). As a religious holiday Eastern is the day when we remember the resurrection of Christ  - but the traditions are much older and based on pagan feasts celebrating the arrival of spring.

Christmas and Christmas Eve are the holidays with the most traditions which we observe.On Christmas Eve we go to church and after church we eat potato salad with sausages. We have a Christmas tree and under the Christmas tree are the presents, which we give to each other. The Christmas tree is decorated with candles and other things. On Christmas Day we have roasted duck with potato dumplings and vegetable.

Based on submissions of Tina, Marcel and Christoph 10.5The following recipe has been submitted by Franzi

Roasted duck

We need the following ingredients:

-          a medium sized duck (already prepared for cooking: not feathers any more etc)-          and for the filling, we need apples, carrots, salt, pepper, garlic and onions

-          dumplings

-          red cabbage

Preparation of the duck

At first  you must wash the duck, and do not forget to take out the inner organs!

Next you have to fill the duck with peeled and cut apples, carrots, and then you spice it with salt, pepper, garlic and onions.

Having done that you put the duck into the hot oven for 2½ hours.

For the dumplings you need dumpling powder, water and a little bit salt.

You have to mix all the ingredients and then form small balls and cook them in hot water for 20 minutes.

 The red cabbage is washed and cut into small slices, spiced with salt and vinegar. (For most of us it is easier to buy the red cabbage already prepared in a glass)Next you fry squared onions in hot butter, mix the red cabbage with little small apple-pieces and put it in a pot, bring it to boil slowly.

After about 20 minutes the cabbage will be ready.

 When everything is ready, you can serve it

Best regards Franziska L 10.5

Absender: fatemeh nikui nezhad <fnikui@yahoo.com>Empfänger: iearn-pph1@lists.iearn.orgBetreff: Farzanegan Highschool Kashan- Iran replies to Hildesheim-Germany about Iranain holidaysDatum: 01.01.2007 17:08

Hello all,Here are Iranian ceremonies and holidays.

1) about yalda night

There were many festival in my country, the name of one festival is yalda. This is the longest night of year. In this night we get together in grandmother’s and grandfather’s house. and we stay up until last night. In it we eat watermelon and dried nuts. The dried nuts consist of :dry fig, peanut, pistachio, hazel nut ,raisin, chick pea and … .

2) Ramadan month

We are Moslems and things necessary to be done to fast.A month in Iran is Ramadan’s month.In this month we don’t eat and drink before sun rise (dawn) to after sun set for to obey from minister of god.In Ramadan we eat food full of energy for example date, shole zard, and halva and …There are three night sin Ramadan that we don’t sleep to morning and want forgiveness from god & read Koran.

Norooz

The first day of New Year is called” Norooz” in Iran. I want to speak a little about our food in Norooz.

We eat some special things in New Year. We eat dried nuts: pistachio, roasted pumpkinseed, sunflower seed, watermelon seed, almond, peanut, walnut, roasted chickpeas & raisin. Beside dried nuts we eat different sweets, Such as: candy, cotton candy & other kinds of confections. Some people eat special food. Of course, it can be different from one city to another city. We eat vegetable rice and fish. There are a lot of different ceremonial in Iran for New Year, too. We go to our grandfather & grandmother’s house and visit them in first or second day of New Year.

Moharram

Moharram is the first month of the new year. We remember innocence and sacrifice and the beauty of spirit human with the name of it. Moharram is the symbol of love and divine, the symbol of the love of human to god and the love of god to human.Ashore event is a big event that human mild a lot of it’s reasons and accidents are ambiguous for yet some times thinking to the innocence of karbala’s martyrs curses that some cruel cry for them.The submissively smile of Ali Asghar when he was ready for martyrdom on imam Hussein hands, the exotic crying of Roghaye, the imam Hussein’s three year old daughter that died on top of her father’s cut off head for separation of him, the oppression and bravery of imam Hussein’s young boy

3)National Holidays in Iran

The Iranian calendar is based on the movement of the sun.The Iranian year begins on the first day of spring; i.e. it is the first day of the first month of the first season of the Iranian year, when the length of the day and night is equal. The Iranian year has four seasons and every season has three months.

The first six months of the Iranian year has 31 days each. The next five months are 30 days long and the last month has 29 days except that every four years there is a leap year when the last month is 30 days long.

The sequence of the months and days, and the dates they coincide with, are as given below:

SpringFarvardin: 21 March-20 AprilOrdibehesht: 21 April-21 MayKhordad: 22 May-21 June

SummerTir: 22 June-22 JulyMordad: 23 July-22 AugustShahrivar: 23 August-22 September

AutumnMehr: 23 September-22 OctoberAban: 23 October-21 NovemberAzar: 22 November-21 December

WinterDay: 22 December-20 JanuaryBahman: 21 January-19 FebruaryEsfand: 20 February-20 March

One of the characteristics of the Iranian calendar is that the first day of the year or the New Year’s Day (Norooz or New Day) coincides with the first day of spring, when nature begins to wake up after its winter sleep. It is for this reason that the UN has named the Iranian New Year’s Day the Day of the Earth. The beginning of the year is celebrated gloriously and the celebrations are called Norooz, a ceremony that has a history of some thousands of years. The festivities last 13 days and normally there is a countrywide bank holiday during the first 4-5 days and on the 13th day.During the New Year holidays most of the people leave their homes to travel in the rest of the country, as is the custom. They go to visit the more attractive and climatically pleasing parts of the country.

“Sofreh Haftseen” or the tablecloth with seven Ss, is a custom that is seriously observed by all Iranians. Before the New Year begins a tablecloth is spread on the floor or a table and seven objects are placed on it whose names begin with an “S”. In addition a volume of the Holy Koran and a few gold fish in a bowl of water are also placed on the cloth..On the 13th day of the new year which is the last day of celebration and is known as “Sizdeh-be-dar” (out on or with the 13th) every body goes to an outing, a picnics in the country, in a park, by a river... somewhere closer to nature. They spend a joyful day in the midst of nature and dispel the bad omen of the figure 13.

Norooz is the most important Iranian festivity. Before this festivity begins and during the days of its duration Iranians extravagantly celebrate the coming of the new, the revival of nature

with spring. The 12th day of Farvardin (the 1st month of the Iranian year) is known as the Day of the Islamic Republic because it was on this day in 1979 (2nd April 1979) that Iranians participated in a referendum and almost unanimously voted for an Islamic Republic.

The 14th of Khordad (4th June) is the day Imam Khomeini (RH) passed away and is an official holiday. The 15th of Khordad (5th June) is the day of the uprising of the citizens of Qom who in 1963, led by Imam Khomeini (RH), organized demonstrations against the Shah’s regime in which a number of citizens lost their lives. This too is an official holiday.

4) The 22nd of Bahman, the day of the victory of the Islamic Revolution in 1979 (11th February) and the 29th of Esfand (20th March), the day of the nationalization of the oil industry, are also official holidays.From 12 to 22 of Bahman (1st-11th of February) celebrations are held as the Ten Days of Fajr on the occasion of the victory of the Islamic Republic. It was on the 12th of Bahman 1979 that Imam Khomeini (RH) returned to Iran, from exile in Paris, and was received by millions of happy people. Ten days later the Islamic Revolution’s victory was established. During the ten days of this celebration many festivals are held. In particular, the country’s most important film festival and a number of artistic and sports contests and tournaments are held during these ten days.

But many festivities and occasions of official mourning in Iran are held according to the Islamic calendar which runs on the movement of the moon round the earth and the earth round the sun observed as changes in the shape of the moon. This calendar has a 355 or 354-day year, i.e. it is 11 days shorter than the solar year, on average. So, many Islamic occasions are held on different days with respect to th e Iranian solar year. The Islamic year has 12 months as follows: 1- Moharram, 2- Safar 3- Rabi-ol-Awwal 4- Rabi-ol-Thani 5- Jamadi-ol-Awwal 6- Jamadi-ol-Thani 7-Rajab 8- Shaban 9- Ramazan 10- Shawwal 11- Zighadeh 12- Zihajjeh.

Because of the 11-day difference, the Islamic calendar does not coincide with the Iranian calendar. So, the Ashura, which is the day of martyrdom of Imam Hossein (AS), the third Imam of the Shias, and which is held on the 10th of Moharram of each year coincided with 27th of Farvardin of 1379 (16 April 2000). In 1380 it coincided with the 16th Farvardin 1380 (2001) and in 1381 it will coincide with the 5th of Farvardin (2002).

Iranians’ most important annual occasions of feast or mourning, which are also official holidays, are as follows:

9th & 10th Moharram: mourning for the martyrdom of the third Imam of Shias, Imam Hossein (AS), and his entourage.20th Safar: Arbain, the 40th day after the martyrdom of Imam Hossein.28th Safar: the death of the holy Prophet Mohammad (peace be upon him).29th Safar: the death of Imam Reza, the eight Imams.17th Rabi-ol-Awwal: the birthday of the Prophet and the sixth Imam of Shias, Imam Jafar Sadegh.3rd Jamadi-ol-Thani: the death of Hazrat Fatemeh, the daughter of the Holy Prophet.13th Rajab: the birthday of Imam Ali (AS)27th Rajab: the day the Holy Prophet was informed of his prophet hood.

15th Shaban: the birthday of Hazrat Mahdi (AS), the 12th and last Imam of Shias.21st Ramazan: the martyrdom of the 1st Imam, Hazrat Ali (AS).1st Shawwal: Eede Fetre, the end of Ramazan (the month of fasting).25th Shawwal: the martyrdom of Imam Jafar Sadegh.10th Zihajjeh: Eede Ghorban.18th Zihajjeh: Eide Ghadire Khom.

The months of Moharram and Ramazan are the two most important months for Shias, and in the lives of Iranians.

During Moharram, Iranians spend sorrowful days mourning the martyrdom of Imam Hossein (AS), the son of Imam Ali (AS) and the grandson of the Prophet.

Ramazan is the month of fasting. All Moslems refrain from eating, drinking and smoking during the daytime. They can eat at sunset. After eating they go to mosques to mourn Imam Ali (AS), the first Imam of Shias, who was struck with sword while in prayer, on the 19th of Ramazan, and passed away on the 21st.

Those who visit Iran during Ramazan must remember that Moslems are very sensitive about their religious principles. Visitors must refrain from eating, drinking or smoking in public during Ramazan. But they may do so in the hotels, airports etc, where they will be given excellent reception.

Best wishes,Farzanegan Highschool, Kashan, Iran

Your request about holidays and special meals

Donnerstag, 21. Dezember 2006, 14:11:19

Hi German friends,

my name is Hasti. I am from Iran and I live in Tehran. I want to say thank you to dear Franziska.I want to answer your questions.

The name of our new year holiday is Norooz. It means new day. It is 21 of March ; first day of our first mount (Farvardin).

Our holiday is eide norooz. Our special food on that day are rice, fish and vegetable (sabzi polo va mahi ). On that day our parents give us some gifts. Then we go to our relatives` house and tell them have a nice year .

We have many other holidays too.

Here is a list of them: the birthday of mohamad salalaho alaih(our see), the day of islamic republic of iran, the day of nature.

If you want come to Iran you must know somehing about norooz holiday

We have a new uncle in norooz holidays. His name is amo norooz (uncle norooz) like you. I think you have a new Papa in Christmas that you name papa noel or Father Christmas. He plays daf (an Iranian music) and he dances and gives children chocolates. He makes his face black and his cloths are red.

Our special food is sabzi polo ba mahi. It is a special rice with fish.

First you must wash rice (about 3 cups), and after that take it to a bowl & let it stay for 3 or 5 hours. After that take to a pan (you must change the water to half of your pan) and take it on the fire of cooker. After 20-30 minutes go and taste it if you can chew it, take it to a water carrier.

When the rice is on the fire, wash 1 kilo of leek, parsley, coriander & garlic (a kilo of all of them). then chop them. After you have chopped them, keep a pan and take skimmer of your rice in your pan & take a skimmer of your leek, parsley, coriander & garlic in your pan and do it until your pan fulled. then take it on the fire of your stove. After 30 minutes go and test it if you feel its ready (it steam) take to a dish then your rice(polo)is ready.

From Jakarta for students in Robert-Bosch-Comprehensive school, Hildesheim

Von:  "Ira Fasa" <irafasa@yahoo.com>

An:  "Learning Circles" <iearn-pph1@lists.iearn.org>

Sonntag, 10. Dezember 2006, 05:48:02

Here in Indonesia we have a lot of holidays.

They are :

Eidul Fitr (Holy Day of Moslems)Eidul Adha (Holy Day of Moslems)Christmas (Holy Day of Christian)New Year EveIndependence Day of Indonesia (August 17th)

Imlek or Gong Xi Fa Cai (Chinese New Year)Nyepi (Holy Day of Hinduism)Veisak (Holy Day of Buddhism)

Because all of the team members are Moslems therefore we will only tell you of three of them: New Years Eve, Independent Day, and Eidul Fitri. At New Years Eve we also have a big firework to celebrate the arrival of the New Year. On this day, we have no special meal.

For Independent Day, this day is celebrated on August 17th. Because the color of our national flag is Red and White, so we wear everything in red and white. We also do some of carnivals. In these holidays we have no special meal too.

For Eidul Fitri, we have some traditions. We go to the mosque for pray together. And after going to the mosque, we eat Ketupat and Opor ayam. On those days, we also slaughter a goat or a cow. And then, the meat will be distributed to the poor. We also give zakat to the poor. Here we share Ketupat Recipe.

KETUPAT RECIPE :

Make ketupat shells as needed and filled half of it with rice. (You can find the picture of a ketupat shell in the next page)

Bring the water and ketupat shells that have been filled with rice to the boil.

Cover tightly with lid.

Turn heat very low and cook for 35-40 minutes until all water is absorbed.

Stir vigorously with a wooden spoon.

Use a piece of washed and greased coconut leaf or greased aluminum foil to cover the surface of the rice and put another plate on top.

Put a weight on top and leave at room temperature for a few hours, until very firm.

Remove weight, plate and coconut leaf and use a wet knife to cut rice into 5 cm squares.

Serve with opor.

OPOR AYAM RECIPE:

8 chicken thighs (skinless if preferred) 2 hot red peppers ground 1 tbs. brown sugar 1 tbs. ground coriander 1 tbs. ground caraway 1 tbs. lemon juice 1 medium onion 2 cloves garlic 1 cup coconut milk

Split the chicken in half and season with garlic, salt and pepper, bake in open dish for 30 minutes @ 350°.

In a skillet brown the onion, garlic in 2 tbs vegetable oil, and add the coriander, caraway, lemon juice and coconut milk and bring to a boil and poor over chicken and let bake for another 20 minutes or until the sauce thickens stirring occasionally.

When everything is ready, you can eat it

Best Regards

Tya, Ruby and Anda