Mandarin students shine in fundraiser

The big day is almost here: from June 19 to July 3, nine of David Perkins' second-year Mandarin students, along with six adults, will be traveling to China to learn about the culture and its people.

The community of Sisters supported the students by attending Friday evening's Spaghetti Feed and fundraiser.

District sales manager John Anast, of Sysco Food Services, supplied food for the big event. The buffet was filled with spaghetti with a choice of a meat or meatless sauce, breads, and salads. Parents and students baked a variety of cakes and cookies for dessert. Refills were encouraged.

Anast's daughter Maddy is a student in the class.

"It's a different language," Anast said, "and she's blossomed in learning it. All the girls in the class have become more self-assured as a result."

Three Sisters Fellowship donated their kitchen and large fellowship room, replacing chairs used during the Sunday service with large dining tables. More tables were set up along the wall for the silent auction.

"Part of our mission statement is serving our community," said church administrator Vickie Layne. "Fundraisers to help kids going on a trip they might otherwise not be able to afford are a way to make that contribution."

The church also provided the use of two large screens for viewing slides of China. Scenes of terra cotta warriors, the Great Wall of China, and a shoe factory - all told the tale of their upcoming two weeks away from home. Pictures of students appeared on-screen, followed by their comments about why they value learning Mandarin.

As had happened at prior fundraisers, several local businesses contributed to the silent auction. Offerings from Black Butte Ranch, Dr. May Fan, Martolli's Pizza, Columbia Sportswear, The Nugget Newspaper, and a Chinese Tiger watercolor donated by calligrapher Hong Chi Zhang lined the back wall.

At the opposite end of the room, Hong Chi Zhang took a day away from his cooking duties at SOJI Noodle & Rice to write people's names in Chinese calligraphy.

Parents who attended the event spoke highly of their children's dedication to learning the language.

Michelle Malone, whose daughter Samantha is going on the trip, helped out in the kitchen.

"Sami works on her homework every day," Malone said. "I think it's going to open up a whole world for her future."

Samantha Malone didn't fall into Mandarin studies by chance.

"She has always been interested in Asian languages. She started teaching herself Mandarin from a course she found on the Internet, learning to write and read," Malone said. "Her cousin has been living in Thailand for several years, and I think he inspired her."

Parent Rob Spear attended to support his daughter Savannah.

"There is an intricacy to the writing and the language," Spear said. "Her mother and I are both English teachers. When she told us she was going to study Chinese, we told her she was on her own."

Host David Perkins wowed the audience with his dragon tales.

"In February," he said, "there were cougar sightings in Sisters, but we saw a dragon at Black Butte Ranch. Two weeks ago, we saw the dragon again, and have been talking with it."

After some coaxing from the audience, a giant dragon danced across the floor and around the room nodding its large head, mouth wide open, at the surprised guests.

Each of the students stood up and introduced themselves in Mandarin. When student Trevor Condel said, in Mandarin, that he liked to sing, an audience member said he'd make another $20 donation if he'd sing something in Chinese. He sang "Frère Jacques" - another donation won.

Games followed. Guests learned to write Xiè-xie (thank you) in Chinese characters with the help of the students and were challenged to come to the front and re-create the character from memory. The challenge was not only duplicating the look of the character, but writing the lines in the proper sequence.

Audience members could also win a prize by learning to correctly repeat a phrase in Mandarin.

A peanut race was a hit with the crowd. People first learned to pick up one, two or three peanuts with chopsticks, then ran a relay race carrying a peanut from one end of the room to another. No one dropped a peanut. They all looked like winners.

Miki McFadden is the mother of first-year student Nila Lukens, who hopes to make the trip next year. McFadden also spoke about the time students put into their homework.

"She (Nila) studies every night. It's demanding. More so than any other subject," said McFadden. "The kind of student who takes Chinese is someone who wants to work hard."

Students can look forward to a third-year Mandarin class being offered next year.