♪ >> welcome to "teen kids news." i'm livia. let's start with our top story for this week. ♪ it's our body's largest organ and the most visible. i'm talking about our skin. so, if you have a medical condition that affects your skin, it can make you reluctant

but scott reports on a special place where these kids can enjoy summer fun and just be themselves. [ cheering, music plays ] >> welcome to camp wonder. all the campers here are battling some type of skin disease. because of pain or embarrassment, most can't go to ordinary camps. but for one carefree week over the summer, they can forget about being patients facing serious medical issues. >> so, i started camp wonder 15 years ago, and i got the idea through my own experiences. when i was 11 years old, i was diagnosed with a very, very rare skin disease. and, honestly, one of the most difficult aspects, more than the physical pain, was really the emotional. >> francesca created much more than just a camp. she created a safe haven where kids are able to talk with each other about the difficulties of their conditions. here, they can share things that few others would be able to understand. >> well, when i'm at home d

i'm just going out, i'm very self-conscious about my body. but here, i just don't care. you know, here, i feel very comfortable in my body. >> because many of the campers need medical supervision, the camp is staffed by dozens of doctors and nurses who volunteer their time. [ crowd cheering ] this year, a special visitor dropped by -- one of the stars of disney channel's "austin and ally," laura marano. >> i'm involved today with camp wonder to actually surprise the kids. they have a talent show today, and they have no idea i'm coming. how are you guys? [ crowd cheers ] >> laura gave a mini concert, singing a couple of songs and talking with the audience. >> something from all of us, so thank you so much. we all signed it for you. >> thank you so much! oh, my gosh! you guys are so sweet! thank you! camp wonder, for those who don't know, is a camp where kids with, you know, severe and sometimes, unfortunately, fatal diseases go to kind of have as regular experien as they can

obviously, it's hard when it's, like, so visual that they have a disease. and this is kind of their place to fit in. >> i'm very grateful for this camp 'cause it's done so much for me growing up. >> there are camp wonders in california and north carolina, and all are free of charge. >> so many of these families have huge medical burdens, and we really did not want sending their child to camp to be another sort of medical burden that these families had to face. so, through supporters like cetaphil, we're able to offer the families the full program. we cover transportation, we cover gas cards -- really, any way we can get the kids to camp. and it really wouldn't be possible without our 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, i think you should, 'cause it will change their lives. it definitely changed mine -- in all the best ways.

>> i guess you can say that camp wonder is simply wonderful. for "teen kids news," i'm scott. >> american students take their language studies from the classroom to the great wall. i'll have the story.

>> you can learn a foreign language in school. and you can 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. >> [ speaking mandarin ] >> [ speaking mandarin ] >> these students at mamaroneck high school are learning mandarin, the official language of china. >> [ speaking mandarin ] >> i've been studying mandarin for about six years. >> we started studying mandarin every day starting in seventh grade. >> [ speaking mandarin ] >> we're very proud of our it started back in the late '80s with about 30 kids, and at its

over 300 kids involved in the mandarin program. >> 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. ♪ 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. ♪ >> you're forced to think in chinese when you're in china. >> i can understand most people well, but at times, i had to definitely ask people to slow down or repeat what they said. >> like, go to stores and have shopkeepers understand my chinese, i think that was really one of the funnest parts. >> today was a lot of fun messing with the chinese people. [ laughter ] >> so, what do you want students to learn from a trip to china?

>> it's kind of really important for them to be immersed in the language. they should have a feel of the culture behind it and, you know, the people. [ students singing in mandarin ] >> we're visiting students at dong twin primary school in rural xi'an. [ singing continues ] >> the students stayed with host families, learning firsthand what their daily routine is like. were you concerned that it would be difficult to communicate? >> absolutely. i was really terrified. there was a whole day that we had to spend alone with our host family with no one from our school. but it was absolutely fine, and there were not many problems with communication. ♪ >> the trip wasn't all work. there was plenty of time to take in the sights of modern and ancient china.

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. ♪ >> we are in the pearl tea house, and right now we are taking part in a traditional tea ceremony. >> they also sampled all kinds of foods, from the famous peking duck... to fried scorpions on a stick. yum.

marketplaces. >> i got lost in the chinese mall. [ laughs ] and i only knew my host sister's english name. so i kept going around going "chloe zai nar?", which is like "where is chloe?" and everyone was like, "i don't know who you're talking about." >> there was a lot that was wonderfully strange and a lot that was strangely familiar. >> and when i got to stay with the chinese family and see what their daily routine is like and going to school and seeing that there's a lot more similarities than i thought between our two cultures. >> china was a lot more open than i expected. i expected it to be a lot more police and, like, a government presence kind of thing. but it seemed a lot more similar to the u.s. than i was expecting. ♪ >> and they did beautifully. whether it was from the schools that we partnered with to the vendors at the pearl market, the kids were really actively using their language and being understood. >> exchange programs like these

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.

>> 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 the folks at "hooplaha," we meet a connecticut teen who works at a unique place -- a movie theater that offers jobs to those who often are forgotten. ♪ >> my name is lilia. i'm an usher here at the prospector theater. i learned about the prospector from reading about it in the newspaper and seeing it on facebook and hearing people talk about it around ridgefield. i learned a lot of different techniques and a lot about how to work with people in different situations that i could actually probably use after high school also.

giving people the opportunity to have jobs in the first place is just great, especially for people with disabilities. i mean, 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, i think, is phenomenal. i think everyone is absolutely fantastic. all the job coaches and my coworkers and everything are extremely nice. and i think anybody that walks in here just gets a great vibe from coming in here. but i get to see more in that. like, i get to talk to my coworkers not just about work, like, just outside of, you know, what we do, like what we do for fun and stuff and what we all think of the prospector. so i get everybody's opinion on the prospector, and they're all fantastic things about it. i've never heard a negative thing about it. i get a very different perspective of when i'm here

seeing a movie. i saw one of my coworkers doing one of the announcements who i thought was originally kind of quiet, but they went out there and they did their announcement, and i was so happy to see them do it so well. and i was clapping, and a couple of other people in the theater were also clapping. and me as one of their coworkers, i was like, "wow. that's something really cool to see." and i really enjoyed being part of that. different 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. ♪ >> this important message is brought to you by the national road safety foundation.

[ school bell rings ] >> all right, guys, so, guess what. the dance is this saturday. >> are you going? >> yes. let's all go together. >> oh, that sounds awesome. [ engine starts ] >> okay, so, you know the theme tonight? >> what happened? >> it's all school spirit, everything spirt... >> rachel? rachel? hey, rache. >> seriously? >> oh, yeah, face paint. rachel, you have the face paint. [ heartbeat pounding ] >> [ echoing ] rachel? >> [ echoing ] rachel? ♪ >> coming up, a recipe for a tasty and healthy snack.

>> there are lots of recipes you can cook up without even turning on a stove. this week, chef johnny prep shows nicole how to make a zesty salsa. >> so, chef johnny, my hands are washed. i'm eager to get started. what's first?

we're gonna make some red salsa, which is a very simple salsa. this is very traditional in mexican cuisine. we're gonna start with some tomatoes, a jalapeño, a little bit of garlic, we're gonna do some cilantro, we're gonna do some sea salt, and then i'm gonna pull out a secret ingredient later. >> what's the secret ingredient? >> the secret ingredient is chicken base. >> oh. >> a really, really good mexican chef years ago took me aside and said, "my secret is i put chicken base in the salsa." i've been doing it ever since. it works. >> so, this looks a little complicated. is this as hard as it looks? >> you know what? it's chop, stick it in a food processor, push a button, we're done. >> yeah? >> all right? >> all right. >> and you're gonna help me do that. you're gonna just slice off a little bit of cilantro. >> okay. >> okay, cilantro's a nice herb. it has a cooling effect, so it kind of counters the jalapeño heat, okay? and we're gonna put that in there. cilantro's interesting, because some people, it's in their dna. it actually tastes a little bit soapy.

like that. so, some people just don't like it, but 95% of people love it, and it just has a really nice, refreshing, cooling effect to counteract the jalapeño. >> mm-hmm. >> now, we're gonna use a jalapeño pepper in this. and this is a fairly hot pepper. now, jalapeños vary in heat. the bigger ones are less hot than the smaller ones. >> mm-hmm. >> you know, so you see a really big jalapeño, it might not be that hot at all. but one thing about hot peppers is all their heat is right in here. all these seeds in that white in there, that's where most of the heat is. most of the heat is not in the meat -- in the green part. >> so that's where you should be careful? >> yeah. so, what i do is i just take it out. >> mm-hmm. >> we're just gonna take that out, because really, we want the flavor of the pepper -- and there will be some heat in the skins, but we don't even need the seeds and the stems. unless you really like heat, and if you like heat, go ahead and throw it in there. >> mm-hmm. >> you know? but jalapeños have a really nice flavor. in mexico, they use serrano chiles a lot of times.

than this. now, there's a safety issue. make sure when you're dealing with hot peppers, okay, you get these oils on your hands when you touch the stuff is where the heat is. and you don't want to touch your eyes, your nose, any sensitive part of your body. you don't want to touch it once you've played with hot peppers. and then, when you're done with hot peppers and we're done making this, i'm gonna run right over to the sink and i'm gonna wash my hands. >> mm-hmm. >> because that's a really important thing to know. >> mm-hmm. >> all right, so, now we're not really chopping this fine because we're putting it in a food processor, okay? but we do need to get it chopped up a little bit, or else the food processor will just get clogged up. >> mm-hmm. >> you know? and i really suggest using a food processor. some people use blenders. but food processors have so many safeties on them that you can really -- it's almost impossible to cut your hand inside of a food processor 'cause of all the safeties they have on it. okay? >> and how about cutting your hand when using a sharp knife? >> well, you know, it's very important, especially when you're a

playing with knives unless your parents have really said "it's cool to do that," okay? but when you're working with a knife, it's important to use good knife safety. grip the knife firmly right around the stem here, like that, so it's an extension of your hand. make sure that when you are cutting something, you keep your hand away from the knife. now, when i cut out, like, this core of this tomato, what i actually like to do is just move the knife in and out and rotate the tomato so i'm not actually pushing the knife towards my hand. >> mm. >> i think that's a much safer approach, like that, 'cause you got to cut out this core 'cause this core part right here is hard and it's not very edible. >> mm-hmm. >> and then the other thing about tomatoes is tomatoes have kind of the skin on it that's tough. >> mm-hmm. >> and if you're cutting it, sometimes if your knife's not sharp, your knife will slip, and that's how you get cut. so i always tell people "cut on the meat side." you cut through it much easier that way. >> mm-hmm. >> and always keep your fingers, when you cut, curled under so that they're not sticking out. i see a lot of kids sometimes like to stick their fingers out,

i'm like, "please, please, please, turn your fingers under so that you can tuck your thumb in behind your fingers, like that. >> so, should i be starting cutting the cilantro? >> yeah, if you can cut me off just a little swath of that cilantro. you know, one beautiful thing about cooking is, truthfully, the measurements aren't that incredible. this is a four-cup food processor. one big tomato is gonna make about a cup of salsa there. so we're just gonna make a small batch of salsa right now, okay? so, just... >> so, you really have a newbie in the kitchen here with you, so what should i do? >> so, you just want to take your knife and grab it and keep your hands away from it and cut right across there and just give me a handful of that stuff. >> all right. >> all right. >> like here is good? >> yeah, just like that. just pull it right back. keep your fingers away. there you go. now just hand that to me. >> okay. all right. that was easy. >> that was pretty easy. look at you. >> [ laughs ] >> you're already an expert. all right. >> and that's all the cilantro you need? >> that's all the cilantro we need. and notice that i didn't worry about taking it off the stems. you don't want these big, thick stems in there. >> i know. i really smell it. >> that aroma. isn't

>> yeah, that smells delicious. >> okay. >> we'll finish up this red salsa recipe when "teen kids news" continues. we'll be right back.

♪ >> so, now, when you deal with garlic -- here's a clove of garlic, okay? the easy way to deal with a clove of garlic is to take it and smash it. >> whew! so, what safety issues do you have to worry about there? >> well, the safety issue is make sure you keep your knife edge away from you when you're doing that if you're gonna use a big knife. you don't necessarily have to use a knife. you can use a spatula... >> mm. >> ...and go like that, okay? which is a little bit safer. but, obviously, chefs have their knives in front of them, so we just use whatever we have at hand. but that way, it makes it really easy to peel, okay? >> mm-hmm. >> 'cause you got to get the peel off -- this is kind of woody -- and just throw it right in there. and then we're going to sprinkle some salt in there. now, you can always add salt. you can't take it out, okay? >> start with less than you think you need. >> start wit

we're gonna have about 1/2 teaspoon. and, you know, the best way to deal with salt is like this -- in a bowl, between your fingers so that you have the most control over your salt. >> mm-hmm. >> unless you really know your shaker. but sometimes shakers pour and sometimes they, like, hardly come out. >> sometimes they shake. >> yeah, exactly. sometimes they rock and roll a little bit on you, you know? and then i just put in about a teaspoon of my secret ingredient, that chicken base. and that's it. >> so, what does the chicken base do? >> it just adds flavor. it adds depth of flavor. i mean, a chicken base is a reduced stock that had onions and carrots and celery and chicken, so there's a lot of complexity. so it just adds complexity to your salsa. it just adds that little bit more flavor to it. actually makes it taste a little bit like soup, you know? people start eating it that way. >> [ laughs ] >> okay, so, then you got to decide... how chunky you like it. some people -- and what you want

sometimes that cilantro gets caught on that stem. so sometimes you got to open it up and put it back down there like that a little bit. >> don't let the processor do all the work for you. >> absolutely. now, if you're gonna put a big piece of garlic in there, you want to process it pretty good, okay? if you want it chunky and you want garlic in there, you should chop the garlic first, because you don't want big chunks of garlic. garlic will kind of... that's 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, i mean, you got the garlic in there. i mean, this is about as healthy a dish as you can have. >> wow. is it time to taste it? >> it is time to taste it. >> wow. that's looks beautiful. >> and it's kind of funny, 'cause when you first put it in a processor, see how it's got

that's 'cause there's air in there. actually, after about five minutes, it looks redder. [ chuckles ] it's kind of funny. >> is it better with air in it or when it's settled? >> it really doesn't affect the taste too much. so, you're gonna be my tasting expert here, and see what you think. >> oh. lucky me. >> tell me if it needs more salt or not. it might. >> mmm. >> good? >> mmm. >> salt's okay? all right, you ready to move on to fruit salsa? >> mm. >> let's do it. all right. >> it's delicious. >> good, good, good, good. >> i want another bite. >> [ chuckles ] >> you want a bite? >> i'm gonna try some, too. what the heck, you know? i'm a big salsa fan. i could eat this all night long. >> mmm. >> you know? >> you just turned me into a big salsa fan. >> this and sports, i could just -- you know, that's a good evening. >> so, 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?

go for it. >> that sure looks delicious. for all of us here at "teen kids news," have a great ♪

it's a special edition of sports stars of tomorrow... this week is our salute to black history month... we'll look at some athletes past a and present who have made a difference beyond just sports... from the greats of the past, to future stars, those stories are all coming up next welcome to the show, everyone... i'm charles davis... today is our black history month special... we're honoring african americans who have had an impact in the sports world and beyond... with spring training getting underway soon, no one would be prouder of the world champion kansas city royals than the late buck o'neil... buck was as beloved as any sports figure in kansas city