♪

(Describer) In computer animation, different news scenes in rectangles move fast around a turning globe.

(Describer) In front of a blue background with a triangle and circle, title: Teen Kids News. A girl sits at a desk with monitors behind her.

Welcome to Teen Kids News. I'm Livia. Let's start with our top story for this week.

♪

(Describer) The Teen Kids News logo is on curved screens that form a turning cylinder. Passing around it, title: Top Story.

It's our body's largest organ and the most visible. I'm talking about our skin. If you have a medical condition that affects your skin, it can make you reluctant to be around other kids. Scott reports on a place where these kids can enjoy summer fun and just be themselves.

(Describer) Two girls dance together. One has bandages on one hand and wears arm warmers.

[Elvis Presley singing "Hound Dog"]

♪ Cryin' all the time ♪

(Scott) Welcome to Camp Wonder. The campers here are battling some type of skin disease. Because of pain or embarrassment, most can't go to ordinary camps. For one week over the summer, they can forget about being patients facing serious medical issues.

(Describer) Francesca Tenconi:

So I started Camp Wonder 15 years ago, and I got the idea through my own experiences. When I was 11, I was diagnosed with a very rare skin disease. One of the most difficult aspects, more than the physical pain, was the emotional.

(Scott) Francesca created much more than just a camp. She created a safe haven where kids talk with each other about the difficulties of their conditions. They can share things few others would be able to understand. When I'm at home, and I'm just going out, I'm self-conscious about my body. But, here, I just don't care. Here, I feel very comfortable in my body.

(Scott) Because many of the campers need medical supervision, the camp is staffed by doctors and nurses who volunteer their time.

(Describer) A young woman walks out to a piano keyboard.

[campers cheering]

This year, a special visitor dropped by--

one of the stars of Austin and Ally, Laura Marano. I'm involved today with Camp Wonder to actually surprise the kids. They have a talent show and have no idea I'm coming.

[cheering]

(Scott) Laura gave a mini concert, singing a couple of songs and talking with the audience.

(Describer) A woman gives her a sign that says, “Thank you!” with lots of signatures on it.

Oh! We all signed it for you. Thank you so much! Thank you. You guys are so sweet! Camp Wonder, for those who don't know, is a camp where kids with severe and sometimes, unfortunately, fatal diseases go to kind of have as regular experience as they can. Obviously, it's hard when it's, like, so visual that they have a disease. And this is their place to fit in. I'm very grateful for this camp 'cause it's done so much for me, growing up.

(Scott) There are Camp Wonders in California and North Carolina, and all are free of charge.

(Francesca) Many of these families have huge medical burdens. We did not want sending their child to camp to be another burden these families had to face.

(Describer) Tenconi:

Through supporters like Cetaphil, we're able to offer the families the full program. We cover transportation, gas cards-- any way we can get the kids to camp. It wouldn't be possible without donors like Cetaphil. If there's a parent out there who has heard of Camp Wonder and are not sure about bringing their kids here,

(Describer) Kids play in a pool.

I think you should, 'cause it'll change their lives. It definitely changed mine in all the best ways.

(Describer) Scott:

I guess you can say that Camp Wonder is simply wonderful. For Teen Kids News, I'm Scott.

(Describer) Coming up...

American students take their language studies from the classroom to the Great Wall. I'll have the story.

(Describer) Livia:

You can learn a foreign language in school and also learn about the country's history and culture. But, as Ellie reports, nothing beats the firsthand experience you get from actually visiting the country.

(Describer) In a classroom...

[speaking Mandarin]

[speaking Mandarin]

(Ellie) These students at Mamaroneck High School are learning Mandarin, the official language of China.

[speaking Mandarin]

I've been studying six years. We started studying Mandarin every day, starting in seventh grade.

(Describer) Assistant Superintendent Annie Ward:

[speaking Mandarin]

We're proud of our Mandarin program. It started in the late '80s with about 30 kids. At its high point, we had over 300 kids in the program.

(Ellie) Being able to speak a foreign language in class is one thing. The true test is seeing if you can communicate with native speakers in their own country.

(Describer) Title: Courtesy, “Made In China” 2013 by Theo Morris. Students ride a bus.

And that's exactly what some of these students did. As part of their foreign exchange program, they got to try out their language skills in China.

(Describer) A golden pagoda is shown, and students gather across a river from a city.

You're forced to think in Chinese when you're in China. I can understand most people well. At times, I had to ask people to slow down. Like have shopkeepers understand my Chinese. That was one of the funnest parts. Today was fun, messing with the Chinese people.

(Describer) They boy steps up to a woman. “Excuse me,” he asks. “Will you marry me?” He kneels and the woman laughs.

[speaking Mandarin]

[laughing]

What do you want students to learn from a trip to China?

(Describer) Mandarin teacher Rong Rong Lee:

It's important for them to be immersed in the language. They should have a feel of the culture behind it and, you know, the people. [children singing in Mandarin]

(Describer) They visit Chinese students their age in a classroom, walk through a big hole in a wall outside, and pose for photos with younger kids.

[singing continues]

We're visiting students at Dong Twin Primary School in rural Xi'an.

(Describer) They walk between a building and a garden. A girl gives out pencils to little boys.

[singing in Mandarin continues]

(Ellie) Students stayed with host families, learning firsthand what their daily routine is like. Were you concerned it would be difficult to communicate? Absolutely. I was terrified. There was a day we had to spend alone with our host family, but it was fine. There were not many problems with communication.

(Describer) They walk on the Great Wall of China, wave from a vehicle and take photos.

(Ellie) The trip wasn't all work. There was time to take in the sights of modern and ancient China. The Forbidden City, closed to outsiders for centuries. Today, its massive doors are open to visitors. At Xi'an, they visited the dig where life-size sculptures were uncovered. These clay figures were made from terra-cotta. That's actually Italian for "baked earth." When the first emperor of China died 2,000 years ago, a whole army of terra-cotta warriors, along with horses and wagons, were buried with him. They climbed the stairs of the Great Wall. Built to protect China from invaders, it's incredibly long. In fact, it would stretch back and forth across the U.S. more than four times.

(Describer) Someone pours hot water into a pot.

We are in the Pearl Tea House. Right now we are taking part in a traditional tea ceremony.

(Describer) They drink. Outside, they eat.

(Ellie) They also sampled all kinds of foods, from the famous Peking duck

(Describer) One of them eats with chopsticks.

to fried scorpions on a stick. Yum. And they wandered through the marketplaces. I got lost in a Chinese mall.

[laughs] I only knew my hostess's English name.

I kept going around, going, "Chloe zai nar?" Which is, "Where's Chloe?" Everyone was like, "I don't know who you're talking about."

(Describer) They dance with red scarves.

(Ellie) There was a lot that was wonderfully strange and was strangely familiar.

(Describer) They play basketball and ping-pong.

When I got to stay with a Chinese family, see what their daily routine is like, going to school, and seeing there's more similarities than I thought between our two cultures. China was more open than I expected. I expected it to be a lot more police and government presence. It seemed more similar to the U.S. than I was expecting.

(Describer) A boy stands on the Wall; others paint masks and twirl batons. Ward:

(Ward) They did beautifully. Whether it was from the schools to the vendors at the market, the kids were really actively using their language and being understood.

(Describer) Livia:

Exchange programs like these are the goal of the 100,000 Strong Foundation. The foundation encourages American students to learn Mandarin, visit, and even study in China. Teen Kids News will be right back.

(Describer) Title: Coming up, Life with a smile. Emily:

Finding a job in today's tough economic times is hard enough. It's even harder if you're an adult with special needs. In this week's video from HooplaHa, we meet a Connecticut teen who works at a unique place, a movie theater that offers jobs to those who often are forgotten.

(Describer) Title: Prospect Profiles: Lilia.

My name is Lilia. I'm an usher at the Prospector Theater. I learned about the Prospector from the newspaper and seeing it on Facebook and hearing people talk about it. I learned a lot of different techniques and how to work with people in different situations that I could use after high school also. Giving people the opportunity to have jobs, in the first place, is just great, especially for people with disabilities. Not all places give people with disabilities the same chance that the Prospector does. And the fact that the Prospector is opening up a wide, broad opportunity for people with a disability to work here is phenomenal. I think everyone is absolutely fantastic. All the job coaches, my coworkers, and everything, are extremely nice. Anybody that walks in here just gets a great vibe from coming in here. But I get to see more in that I get to talk to my coworkers not just about work, outside of what we do, like what we do for fun, and what we all think of the Prospector. I get everybody's opinion on the Prospector, and they're all fantastic. I've never heard a negative thing. I get a different perspective of when I'm here working and when I'm here seeing a movie. I saw one of my coworkers doing one of the announcements, who I thought was kind of quiet. But they went out there and did their announcement, and I was so happy to see them do it so well. I was clapping, and a couple of other people were also clapping. As one of their coworkers, I was like, "That's really cool to see." I enjoyed being a part of that. Ways you can help out the Prospector are with memberships, donating, just seeing a movie here. You can also find us on our website at prospector.org. And you can just come here and see a movie, get popcorn. All that helps everyone out here.

(Describer) Title: Your donation invests in our sparkle. ProspectorTheater.org. Livia:

This important message is brought to you by the National Road Safety Foundation.

[school bell rings]

(Describer) A school hallway fills in fast-motion. Leaving the school...

Guys, so guess what. The dance is this Saturday. You going? Let's go together.

(Describer) Five friends get in a car in a snowy parking lot. A girl drives.

(boy) That sounds awesome.

[engine starts]

You know the theme tonight? It's all school spirit.

(Describer) A boy in the back taps the driver’s shoulder.

Rachel. Hey, Rache.

[simultaneous chatter]

(Describer) She glances in the rear-view mirror.

Oh, yeah, face paint. Rachel.

[voices echoing] Rachel. Rachel. Rachel.

(Describer) Rachel tries to focus, but shuts her eyes.

Rachel. Rachel.

[heartbeat pounding]

(Describer) Titles: Distracted Driving. It’s more than texting. A message from the National Road Safety Foundation.

(Describer) A viewer email says, “My favorite news show! Open-mouth smiley emoticon.” Signed Barb.

Coming up, a recipe for a tasty and healthy snack.

(Describer) Livia:

There are lots of recipes you can cook up without turning on a stove. This week, Chef Johnny Prep shows Nicole how to make a zesty salsa.

(Describer) In a kitchen:

So, Chef Johnny, my hands are washed. I'm eager to get started. What's first? Let's get going here. We're going to make some red salsa, a simple salsa. This is very traditional in Mexican cuisine. We're going to start with some tomatoes, jalapeño, a bit of garlic. We're going to do some cilantro, sea salt. Then I'm going to pull out a secret ingredient. What's the secret ingredient? The secret ingredient is chicken base.

(Describer) ...in a jar.

A really good Mexican chef took me aside and said,

[Mexican accent] "My secret is a chicken base in salsa."

I've done it ever since. This looks a little complicated. Is this as hard as it looks? It's chop, stick it in a food processor, push a button, done. You're going to help me. Slice off a bit of cilantro.

(Describer) He gives her a bunch of the green herb.

Cilantro is a nice herb. It has a cooling effect. It kind of counters the jalapeño heat. Okay? We're going to put that in there. Cilantro's interesting. Some people-- it's in their DNA-- it tastes a little soapy. Five percent of the population's like that. Some people don't like it. Ninety-five percent love it. It has a nice cooling effect to counteract the jalapeño. We're going to use a jalapeño pepper. This is fairly hot. Jalapeños vary in heat. The bigger ones are less hot than the smaller ones. A really big jalapeño might not be that hot at all.

(Describer) He cuts the top off one, then cuts it down the middle.

One thing about hot peppers is all their heat is right in here. All these seeds in there, that's where most of the heat is. Most of the heat is not in the green part. That's where you should be careful? Yeah. I take it out.

(Describer) He cuts out the middle and the seeds.

We want the flavor of the pepper. There will be some heat. We don't even need the seeds and stems unless you like heat. If you like heat, go ahead and throw it in there. Jalapeños have a really nice flavor. In Mexico, they use serrano chilies a lot of times, but they're hotter than this. Now, there's a safety issue. Make sure, when you're dealing with hot peppers-- You get these oils on your hands when you touch the stuff, is where the heat is.

(Describer) He throws it out.

You don't want to touch your eyes, nose, any sensitive part of your body, once you've played with hot peppers. When you're done with hot peppers, I'm going to go to the sink and wash my hands. That's a really important thing to know, all right? We're not chopping this fine, 'cause we're putting it in a food processor.

(Describer) He puts in the peppers.

We need to get it chopped a little bit, or the food processor will get clogged up. I suggest a food processor. Some use blenders. Food processors have many safeties on them. It's almost impossible to cut your hand inside a food processor, because of all the safeties. How about when using a sharp knife? It's very important, especially when you're at home, don't start playing with knives unless your parents have really said it's cool to do that. But when you're working with a knife, use good knife safety. Grip the knife firmly around the stem so it's an extension of your hand. Make sure, when you are cutting something, you keep your hand away from the knife. When I cut out this core, I move the knife in and out. Rotate the tomato. I'm not pushing the knife towards my hand. I think that's a much safer approach.

(Describer) He cuts around the top.

You got to cut out this core, 'cause this part is not very edible.

(Describer) He throws it out.

The other thing is tomatoes have a skin that's tough. Sometimes, if your knife's not sharp, your knife will slip. That's how you get cut. Cut on the meat side.

(Describer) He does.

You cut through it easier that way. Always keep your fingers, when you cut, curled under so they're not sticking out. A lot of kids like to stick their fingers out. Please, please turn your fingers under, and tuck your thumb in behind your fingers. Should I be starting cutting the cilantro? If you could cut a swath of that cilantro. One beautiful thing about cooking is,

(Describer) He puts the chunks of tomato in the food processor.

truthfully, the measurements aren't that incredible. This is a four-cup food processor. One big tomato is going to make about a cup of salsa there. We're just going to make a small batch of salsa. You really have a newbie in the kitchen here. What should I do? Take your knife and grab it. Keep your hands away from it. Cut across, and give me a handful. Just like that. Pull it back. Now just hand that to me.

(Describer) She cuts some of the leaves off the bunch, and gives them to him.

That was easy. Look at you. You're already an expert.

(Describer) He puts it in the processor.

That's all the cilantro you need? That's all we need. Notice I didn't worry taking off the stems. You don't want these thick stems. I really smell it. Isn't that awesome? That smells delicious.

(Nicole) We'll finish up this red salsa recipe

when Teen Kids News continues. We'll be right back.

♪

(Describer) Spinning with the circle and triangle, title: Teen Kids News. With Nicole in the kitchen, Johnny Prep:

When you deal with garlic-- Here's a clove of garlic. The easy way to deal with garlic is to take it and smash it.

(Describer) He hits the flat side of a knife, then peels it.

What safety issues do you have to worry about there? Make sure you keep your knife edge away from you. You don't have to use a knife. You can use a spatula.

(Describer) ...smashing it.

Go like that, which is safer. Chefs have their knives, so we use whatever we have. That way it makes it easy to peel. Get the peel off. This is woody. Throw it in. And then we're going to sprinkle some salt in there. You can always add salt. You can't take it out. Start with less than you think you need. About a half teaspoon. The best way to deal with salt is like this, in a bowl. You have the most control, unless you really know your shaker. Sometimes shakers pour. Sometimes they hardly come out. Sometimes they shake. Exactly. Sometimes they rock and roll a little bit on you. Then I put in about a teaspoon of my secret ingredient, that chicken base.

(Describer) He taps it off a spoon, then uses another spoon to scrape the rest of it off.

And that's it. What does the chicken base do? It adds a depth of flavor. A chicken base is a reduced stock that had onions, carrots, celery, and chicken, so there's a lot of complexity. It adds complexity to your salsa,

(Describer) He puts the lid on the processor.

that little bit more flavor. It actually makes it taste a little like soup. People start eating it that way.

(Describer) He presses a button on the processor.

Then you got to decide how chunky you like it. What you want to do, too,

(Describer) He opens it.

is see if that cilantro gets caught on that stem. Sometimes you got to put it back down there.

(Describer) He closes it again.

Don't let the processor do all the work. If you're going to put a big piece of garlic in there, you want to process it good. If you want it chunky, chop the garlic first because you don't want big chunks of garlic. That's it.

(Describer) He opens it.

So all we have in there are fruits and vegetables? That's it. It's completely healthy. You got the lycopene in the tomatoes. You got the herbs in there. You got the garlic in there. This is as healthy a dish as you can have.

(Describer) He takes the container off its base and sets out a bowl.

Is it time to taste it? It is time to taste it.

(Describer) He pours the salsa into the bowl.

Wow. That looks beautiful. It's funny. When you put it in a processor-- It's got a lighter color 'cause there's air in there. After five minutes, it looks redder. Is it better with air in it? It doesn't affect it. You're going to be my tasting expert. Lucky me. Tell me if it needs more salt or not.

(Describer) With a tortilla chip, she scoops up some salsa and eats.

(Describer) She nods and gives a thumbs up.

Mmm. Good? Salt's okay? You ready to move on to fruit salsa?

(Describer) They fist-bump.

Let's do it. It's delicious. Good, good. I want another bite.

(Describer) She gets another tortilla chip.

You want a bite? I'm going to try some. What the heck, you know?

(Describer) He gets a chip while she dips, then eats.

I'm a big salsa fan. I could eat this all night long. You just turned me into a big salsa fan. This and sports. That's a good evening.

(Describer) He eats.

There you have it, Johnny Prep's salsa from Chef Johnny, one of his recipes in his new book. Trust me. It's delicious. For Teen Kids News, I'm Nicole. Can I have one more? Absolutely. Go for it.

(Describer) The book’s title is The Magic of Cooking with Really Good Broth. Nicole nods again.

(Describer) Accessibility provided by the U.S. Department of Education. Livia:

That sure looks delicious. For all of us here at Teen Kids News, have a great week.