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Finally! A Udon Workshop in America!
On March 22nd, we at AEA held an udon workshop in Schaumburg, Illinois, USA! In this article, I would like to share what we did, what were the challenges, and our impressions! So, "Let's get right into the article!!"
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Table of Contents
- What did they actually do in Schaumburg?
- An unexpected development?
- thoughts
- If you like the video, check it out too!
What did they actually do in Schaumburg?
This udon workshop was held at Schaumburg National Airport. So what did we do in this udon workshop? It was an experiential workshop where we learned how to make udon together with local people and children in Schaumburg and ate it together. Thanks to the cooperation of our homestay families, more people than we expected came, which surprised and delighted us at the same time. First, we, the AEAs, explained the process of making udon, the key points, and things to be careful about, and then we made udon together. Since it was the first time for everyone to make udon, everyone had a hard time. But as time went by, everyone was making delicious-looking udon like a craftsman! After much effort, the udon was finally completed! The result was... a success! Everyone ate it with gusto, and many times they called out "It's delicious!"! By sharing this experience with everyone, I think they learned how to make udon and the fun of making udon!
An unexpected development?
There were some mishaps and problems behind the scenes of the udon workshop. First, there was a lack of water at the venue. At first, we thought that we would boil the udon, wash it with water, and then eat it, but there was only one water tap, and it was extremely small! We thought that it would be impossible to wash and serve the udon smoothly with dozens of people, so we changed from bukkake udon to kamaage udon (a traditional way of eating udon, where boiled udon is put directly into the soup). Therefore, we adjusted the amount of salt and water when preparing the udon.
There were other issues, such as the use of a substitute for the "stick" used to stretch the udon dough and an unexpected location problem, but with everyone's cooperation and discussion, we were able to smoothly resolve the issues and hold the best udon workshop ever. This experience made me realize that more preparation is necessary. Although it was an unexpected incident, I think we can take it as a positive and use it to our advantage next time!
thoughts
This was my first udon-making workshop overseas, so I was a little nervous, but everyone enjoyed it and said, "It was delicious," so I felt glad that I held the workshop! I made some friends in America and it was a great experience!
If you like the video, check it out too!
We also took a short video during the workshop, so please take a look if you'd like. Thank you for reading the AEA KIDS article to the end!
The NPO AEA conducts volunteer activities in which children and their families work together to guide guests from overseas. During local traditional events and events, children can actually converse in the English they have learned and interact with people from different cultures, improving their communication skills and developing rich personalities. I would like to play a role in English education that fosters the ability to think for oneself, solve problems, and communicate to others.
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