Zongzi Wrapping
Have you ever eaten or seen one of these before? This is a Chinese (sticky) rice dumpling wrapped in bamboo leaves. It varies, but its filling usually consists of rice (or sticky rice), salted duck eggs, pork– you name it!
Back in 2017, I did some volunteer work at a local Chinese church, Chinese Grace Bible Church, near my high school for a Zongzi fundraiser. Our goal was to wrap and fundraise over 1,000 Zongzi to be donated to those in need. I remember staying for almost the entire day, with most of it just getting the preparations for the Zongzi wrapping ready. Team work was used for almost everything. There were stations, groups, and everyone each had their own roles. Since I was with the volunteer group, we were split up into pairs of four and rotated stations. The first station was washing the bamboo leaves. These were what was going to be wrapping the dumplings, so it was to be washed very thoroughly and with extreme caution. A rip in the leaves could be fatal when it comes to Zongzi wrapping. Next, it was rinsing the rice. Plain and simple, the rice was repeatedly washed until clean. Then, it was set aside to drain. Last, but certainly not the least, the most intimidating station came. It was our turn, the volunteers, to have our own attempts at wrapping Zongzi. Let me just say, it was extremely difficult. The aunties and uncles made it look ridiculously easy. To have the perfect Zongzi, it must have the perfect proportions of filling, it must be wrapped tightly, and it must look not have any holes or rips. At the end of the day, it was closed off with sorting them according to their flavors and categories for donation.
I learned a lot from this experience. Not only was I exposed to the Chinese culture and language, I learned skills regarding teamwork. The stations showed that to be true. In order to progress and be the most productive as we could, everyone relied on each other. If someone fell behind, everyone would back them up to pick them up. No one was ever left behind. The church attendees also showed their hospitality and kindness by teaching us their ways.
Source: Chinese-Grace-Bible-Church