Tuna and Jelly Sandwiches, etc.

I had a very hard time eating rice back then, since my stomach wasn't used to it, so it was tough for me to adjust to eating rice for breakfast, lunch, and dinner! The children always had some kind of spicy soup with the rice, but since the orphanage was very poor, it didn't have much nutrition in it. Usually, the orphanage rotated between spicy cabbage soup, spicy cucumber soup, and spicy rice noodle soup. At times they simply made boiled rice soup. Once in a while they proudly served canned sardines in spicy tomato soup (they ate the soft bones, the heads, and everything)- which I originally thought was disgusting- but after a few months of getting very little protein, I came to regard it as a special treat!

I often returned to the orphanage for lunch in the afternoon, since I was a volunteer and didn't have much money to spend on food. Usually, lunch was just rice with leftover spicy soup from breakfast. Sometimes Lawan or the staff took pity on my poor American stomach, however, and tried to treat me to something "western." I remember one of these food disasters very well- here is a paragraph from an email to my family.

"In the morning I was trying to explain to Maema in my limited Thai how, in America, we make sandwiches. They had bought me some tuna, jam, and bread, because they had seen Americans eat these things in sandwiches before. So, a little later, Maema brought me a sandwich she had made- with tuna AND jelly! I sat with Maema and Lawan and smiled as I began to eat my tuna and jelly sandwich, thinking that these two things DEFINITELY do NOT go together! Then Lawan wanted me to try a little of what she was eating- something like a roll with some sticky tan stuff inside (which I later learned was probably durian). I ate a little- and then resumed eating my tuna and jelly sandwich GRATEFULLY, because it tasted GOOD in comparison!"

Actually, tuna and jelly sandwiches would turn out to be the least of my food adventures- I would sample many more previously unimaginable foods during my 5 years there! But trying to smile through that special sandwich, and the proud look on Maema's face for making it, was something I will never forget!

Vocabulary- adverbs of manner

simply- plainly, in a simple manner, merely
proudly- with pride, in a proud manner, feeling self-respect
originally- in the first place
well- in a good or satisfactory manner
definitely- decidedly, without question or doubt
gratefully- appreciatively, in a thankful manner, with thanks

Vocabulary practice- fill in the blanks

Benny sat and stared at his homework. He felt so frustrated! His teacher had said that he must do his homework ___________, but he just didn't know how to do it. His mother came into his room. "Benny, what's wrong?" she asked. You ____________ look sad. "Mom, I have to do a good job on my homework, but I _____________ don't understand!" His mother at the work. It was a math page. "Well, I will show you how to do it," she said. Benny's mom showed him how to do the first problem, and she explained every step. Benny started to smile. "Now I understand!" he exclaimed. "I _____________ thought I couldn't do it, but now I see that it's easy!" Benny finished his homework. Then, he looked at it _____________. "Thanks, mom," he said _______________.

Grammar- adverbs of manner

Adverbs of manner tell you how something is done. They often end in -ly, but not always. You can find an adverb of manner by asking, "How did the subject do it?"

example- He hit me hard. "How did he hit me?" -hard So, hard is an adverb that describes the verb "hit."

Where to put them in the sentence-

There are a few places that you can put an adverb of manner in a sentence. Often it is placed at the end of the clause.

examples-
You spoke convincingly.
You described everything convincingly.
You described everything to me convincingly.

However, you can also place an adverb in other positions, based on what we want to emphasize. It can be placed before the subject, before the verb, or between the object and an adverbial phrase.

examples-
Carefully, she put it on the shelf.
She carefully put it on the shelf.
She put it carefully on the shelf.

In addition, if you are using a sentence with a past participle, when you put the adverb before the verb it must be placed immediately before the past participle. However, you can still put the adverb at the end of the clause if you prefer.

It had been carefully placed on the shelf.
It had been placed on the shelf carefully.

Grammar Practice-

Find each adverb of manner in my both my blog and the vocabulary practice, and identify its position in the sentence. Choose from these options:

Before the clause
Before the verb
Between the object of the verb and an adverbial phrase
At the end of the clause