China's stolen sons

In China the new booming business is stealing sons, and selling them, surprised, you should be. About one hundred ninety children are stolen each day! After reading the article about how people in China steal sons, I was so surprised. I never would have thought that someone would steal a child! Wanting a son has been part of China for many years and because of the strict one-child law parents are literally desperate to have a boy due to old traditions. Zhen Zibao, a shopkeeper, says buying a son is widely accepted and that stolen children could be found in most towns and villages. "If you have only girls, you don't feel right inside," says Zhen, who has one child, an 11-year-old son. "You feel your status is lower than everyone else." Unfortunately, the parents are left heartbroken because their child is now missing, and a lot of them are not found! "We spend our life savings, we borrow money, we will do anything to find our children," says Peng Gaofeng, who formed a group for parents of stolen children after his 4-year-old son was kidnapped. "There is a hole in our hearts that will never heal." If parents turn their back for one minute, poof their child is gone. Cars don’t even stop for the child they just keep going!
The one child law
The years before the law China struggled with food for people because their population was so big. In china parents are only allowed to have one child. The population has been going down by a bunch, but it has also led to many abortions due to the fact that people want to have a boy, can also lead to neglect or, even worse, abandonment.

China Immigration, China Town, and Chinese New Year Celebration
History of Chinese Immigration
Chinese immigrants first started coming to the United States from 1849-1882 for the gold rush, and they began spreading out all over the Unted States after the transcontinental railroad. Mostly young men came over and they usually got jobs as laborers, which meant they worked with their hands. The people came from rural areas, and this was thought as a job opportunity. They came again from 1882-1965. Not very many people even had access to the United States and only a few groups were allowed to leave their country. There was one major problem though, people weren’t treated equally due to the Chinese Exclusion Act, and the Chinese-Americans were stuck in ghettos, and worse, work was hard and the pay was low and they had tough working conditions. The people were subject to neglect here in the States and they had a really tough time getting jobs, or even getting in! The Exclusion Act was signed in 1882 and in completely left out Chinese people from even getting in to the United States. They had such a hard time, even for the few who made it into the States. Eventually the Chinese-Americans were able to see the light. In 1995 the Chinese Act was started, this finally gave the people to have equal rights. Now they live along side with us everyday. J

Chinatown
In the 1870s the Chinese Immigrants started coming to Chicago instead of by the Pacific Coast, like normal. They had the same tough laws like the Pacific Coast, but they found more opportunity here with jobs at restaurants and several other places. When China faced tough times with communism the Chinese population in Chicago grew hugely ranking fourth in the country for Chinese population! China Town was trying to establish itself in 1905, but they heard of the hard times in California, which was becoming a reality for Chicago to. People were forced to move south because company owners soud not afford to pay them. In the 1970s they decided to try again! The location was in the North Side of Chicago. The people became really good at accommodating for the new immigrants that were coming to Chinatown in Chicago, they learned English and even were able to get social service jobs, in the later years. Chinatown started become a huge attraction site, as more and more business stared forming there, like groceries and restaurants. Unfortunately for the growing town they had problems with housing all of them, and it became economically in trouble. Eventually Chinatown was extended to McCormick Place. When they wanted to extend it there was one problem: it was dangerous! There was a lot of pollution and biohazards, Eventually they finished and we got the Chinatown that we have today!
The Chinese New Year Celebration
The Chinese New Year is not quite what it seems! At first glance you see colors, and firecrackers and good food, but the celebration goes with an age long tradition that you won’t believe.
First off, The Chinese New Year is based off of the lunar calendar. It comes along with an ancient myth of a wild beast that came to the town once a year and killed many people! They used red and bright lights to scare away the horrible beast. Now it is one of the biggest and most important holidays on the calendar. A long time ago it was not so wonderful. As year passed that was a bad thing because many people died due to flood or famine. The families came together and enjoyed a feast for the ones that were still alive! Now, the families still get together, but it is for a celebration of 15 days. The first day the streets light up with many firecrackers. After is 2 weeks of rest, filled with big dinners, with fish for abundance and chicken for luck. People are all over the place buying red for abundance and food for their great feasts. On the fifteenth day the sky is filled with lanterns and is a symbol of the end of the holiday. The streets are also filled with a lively parade that consists of dragons and lion dancers that promise good luck in the upcoming year. Surprisingly the Chinese New Year hasn’t always been the same time. The Emperors would change it to the time that they thought was right, but the tradition has been going on since 200 B.C.E. 2010 was the year of Tiger. Each year has an animal and the lunar calendar consist of 12 animals: Pig, Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Horse, Snake, Sheep, Monkey, Rooster, Dog, and Pig.

cooking!

In class we were assigned to cook Chinese food out of our recipe book. My brother and I decided to work together and make egg drop soup. All we needed was some eggs, spinach, and chicken broth. First, my brother poured the broth, and put it into a pan (we had to wait for it to boil). During this, I got the eggs and began to separate them. Next, he whisked the eggs together and I cut up all of the lettuce into nice, small, thin strips (we had to improvise because my brother went to the store and bought the wrong thing!) Finally the broth came to a boil. He poured the eggs slowly so that they wouldn't get all clumped together, I stirred for the same reason because at the end the soup is supposed to look the eggs are in weird thin strips, some even with a little bit of an awkward shape. Finally we were done, hot right to my mom. when asked about the soup she said, "It's delicious!" Although she knew that we didn't use spinach she added, "It would have probably tasted better if you used spinach, the right thing." Oh well, maybe next time! I thought it was good, the only problem was I ate it after everybody else, so it wasn't as warm.