Understanding
by Sara M.

" Grandma I mean Paw Paw, " pleaded Robert "Tell me about your homeland, China."
"Well now, when I was 26, in year 1948, a year before the Communists took over, I moved here from China. The Communists were moving in, and there was lots of ruckus. On the ship to America, some Communists up in a plane dropped a small bomb on deck. I was playing cards with my parents in our cabin. All of a sudden, there was a giant crash, and lots of smoke. The whole ship sort of ... well, exploded. I was knocked out for a minuet, and when I woke up, I was flying through the air, before I hit the water. I sank like a stone, then bobbed back up. I grabbed at a plank of wood. It was horrible. There were lifeless bodies and people shouting for help. A rescue boat came the next morning."
"Wow! Neat." exclaimed 10 year old Sara. "You were only 26. Your 79 now.
"Yeah, you were brave." said 9 year old Robert admiringly.
"Not really. Anybody could of done that." said Emily, age 15. She always thought she was the best, and was not afraid to put other people down to show this. Everybody ignored her, except for Paw Paw. "Could have." she corrected. Emily turned scarlet and stalked out of the room. That night, just before dinner, Paw Paw told them what people in the olden times used to eat in China. " At breakfast, they would eat millet porridge, a kind of grain porridge, maize bread, a veggie tomato dish, beans, and potatoes fried in oil. "
"Yum! Lets cook that for supper!" suggested Sara.
"Yeah!" agreed Robert.
"Ugh." added Emily.
" It is hard. I'll cook it." suggested Paw Paw. "Watch me so you can cook tomorrow." she ordered Emily. Emily wouldn't watch. She would only listen to the sounds of her Paw Paw in the next room. She also insisted that it was simple.
The next night, their dinner was terrible. The millet porridge was dry and lumpy, the maize bread was sour and crumbly, in the veggie tomato dish the vegetables were limp and over cooked, And the potatoes fried in oil caught on fire and the alarm went off. The beans were the only edible thing. Everybody except for Emily almost starved, while Emily ate everything saying how delicious it was between pained looks.
The next night, Paw Paw cooked dinner and insisted that Emily watch. She must have been angry from last night, because she did. Paw Paw also said that the ancient Chinese had millet porridge for dinner. Sara couldn't see how, if the Chinese had all this food, why most ancient people were hungry most of their lives. She also told them that she would have to make moon cakes sometime. These were pastries that were usually stuffed with almond paste, bean curd or duck eggs. They were always piled 13 high to represent the 13 lunar months.
The night after Paw Paw coked, Emily did. Sara and Robert were surprised. The food was only half bad! Emily was proud. She must not have been 100% happy though, for the next night, she tried cooking dinner again. If she had trouble, she would listen to Paw Paw and watch how Paw Paw did it. That night, there dinner was delicious. Paw Paw wasn't surprised. Sara and Robert always thought that Paw Paw ad done this purposely, for Emily was a lot nicer now. Paw Paw had changed her. And taught her "I hear and I forget, I see and I remember, I do and I understand.

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