Hello from Switzerland!

Bonjour Richmond Drive first graders!

Do you know what "Bonjour" means?  It means hello in French!  They speak French here in Switzerland.  I am trying hard to learn, but luckily many people here speak English, too, so I am making lots of friends!  They help me understand signs in French, like this one:

 

It says "White Horse Street." 

Switzerland is a very small country in Europe, across the Atlantic Ocean. Can you find it on the map?

I am in a city named Geneva. It was built a very long time ago, before there were any cars, so the roads are narrow.

Do you see a flag here that you recognize?  The USA has a flag- it is in your classroom.  Every country has a flag, Switzerland too!

A lot of people ride bikes or motorcycles to get around because the streets are so small.  Also, the people care about taking care of the environment.  Motorcycles use less gas than cars, and of course bikes don't need any gas, just people with energy!  Do you like to ride your bike?

 

I love a bike ride, but my legs are too short to reach the pedals!  So my friends here are taking me on a ride!  Weeeeeeeee!

Well, I have more exploring to do so I'd better go!  Where did I put my bike helmet?  Got to put in on before we start!  OK kids I'll write more soon!
Your friend,

Flat Stanley

Hi everyone!

Hi Kids!!!

Welcome to the first grade! 

My name is Flat Stanley.  Have you read the book about me?  I am flat so people can send me in envelopes and suitcases all over the world.  I love to travel and I want to tell you all about the new places I go and the people that I meet this year!

Right now I am with my friend Dr. Appelgren.  She is Mrs. North's daughter.  Do you know Mrs. North?  She is my friend too!

Dr. Appelgren put me in her suitcase and took me to a country called Kyrgyzstan!  Kyrgyzstan is a small country, but it is near some big countries that you might have heard of.  Can you find Kyrgyzstan on a map?

I like to take pictures when I am travelling.  Would you like to see my pictures?



I have learned that most people in Kyrgyzstan live in houses and apartments just like people in Rock Hill.  But, some people live in a special kind of house called a yurt.  Families who have a lot of animals need to bring their animals to the countryside in the summer so that the animals can eat a lot of grass.  But, their houses are far away so they need a place to live.  They bring all the things with them to make their yurt, which is a temporary home.  It gets very cold in the winter, so when it starts to snow they will take their yurt apart and go back to their regular house with their animals. 

Can you see kids in the picture who live in a yurt?  How do you think their days are different from yours?  Do you see the animals?  What kinds of animals do you see?

It used to be that many people in Kyrgyzstan lived in yurts and they had to move around a lot.  Have you seen their flag?  Here is a picture of it that I took in the capital city of Kyrgystan, Bishkek:

The design in the middle of the flag is the same pattern that you would see if you stood in the middle of the yurt and looked up.  So yurts are very important to this country. 

Do you know what the capital city of the United States is?  Do you know what the things on our flag mean to our country?

I am having a great time meeting new people and learning about Kyrgyzstan.  I will tell you more soon!
Your friend,
Flat Stanley

Zambia Part 2

Hi Kids!

Your friend Flat Stanley here. Sorry I have been slow to write again, sometimes travels get so busy! I hear you are about to start summer vacation. Will you be traveling too?

Last time I wrote I was visiting a school in Zambia. Well, I was able to join my friend Dr. Kevin and drive around the city of Lusaka in a Land Cruiser truck! Here I am getting ready for our day trip.

I noticed that many people do not have sinks in their homes. Some people have to walk down the road every morning to get water for bathing or drinking. Here are some boys in the neighborhood doing the morning chore of filling water buckets to bring back to their home.

Wow, we are sure lucky to have water in our homes! These boys are good helpers though and I'm sure they made their parents happy helping with chores.

After our drive around the city we decided to go on safari. Do you know what a safari is? That's right, it is when you go searching for animals in the wild. Many people think of Africa when they think about safari. Did you know that you can go on a safari in your very own backyard? All you need is a hat, some sunscreen, a pencil and paper to write down what you see and maybe a pair of binoculars. You look around nature and try to find as many insects, birds or animals that you can find. It is important to be nice to the animals so that you do not disturb them. Here are some of the animals I saw on my Africa safari. Can you name them?

Which animal is your favorite?

Off to another adventure! Have a great summer vacation and thank you for being such good readers!

Your friend,

Flat Stanley

Zambia School Trip!

Hello!

It's your friend Flat Stanley here. I bet you have been wondering where I have been? Let me see if you can guess...It is one of the largest continents and is known for elephants and zebras. That's right! AFRICA! Africa is a big place with many countries. I traveled to the country of Zambia with my friend Dr. Clarke. We flew into Zambia's capital city, Lusaka. Mrs. North told me that you wondered if it is rainy or dry in Zambia. It can be both, there is a rainy and a dry season. We arrived at the end of rainy season, so everything was very green.

Zambia is in the middle of southern Africa. Below is a picture of me visiting a school in Zambia. It is called Kondwa Centre. Kondwa means happy in the local language...Nyanja. On the playground wall they had a map of Africa and Zambia inside it...Zambia is shaped a bit like a butterfly some people say. What do you think?

I had a fun time visiting the school in Lusaka. They have a playground, 4 classrooms and many colorful drawings on the wall designed by the students. Many of the children do not have much money, so the school provides each student with two meals a day and a toothbrush! I packed my own toothbrush in my backpack so I could join in on the fun! Here are the bags where students keep their toothbrushes...

We drove around Lusaka in a big car. Logan, I heard you were wondering about the houses in Zambia. :) Most of the homes are very different from Rock Hill. Homes in Zambia are often made of concrete blocks and metal roofs. It makes a lot of noise on the roof when it rains, but it was exciting. We drove to a fruit orchard that belongs to the school. Here is a picture I took of Dr. Clarke with Mrs. Angela. Mrs. Angela is the school principal and is very nice.

They are standing next to guava trees. Do you know what a guava is? They also had mango, banana and papaya growing in the orchard. My tummy was full afterwards!

I'll send another report from Zambia soon. I'll leave you with a lesson on how to say "Thank you" in Nyanja..."Zikomo kwambire"! Give it a try and you'll be speaking like a Zambian too!

Your friend,
Flat Stanley

In Haiti

Hi kids!

So, I've made it to Haiti with Dr Fitter.  Dr Fitter works with Dr Appelgren.  He brought me along to see Haiti and visit some spots with him and his colleagues.  We have spent some time in the capital, Port-au-Prince, and I also was able to travel around the country.  Haiti is in the Caribbean and it's pretty warm down here!  On my first day we were driving around Port-au-Prince and I saw some interesting things.

This is a picture of a tap-tap.  They are like buses down here.  They are extremely colorful and people hop on and off them as they make their way through town.  I was very impressed with the designs and the paintings on them.  You can also see in this picture that a lot of the people wear clothes that are similar to those that we have in the United States. 

I tried looking for a Stop sign in the capital, but never found one.  But, I was told that they definitely exist and look the same as the ones in the United States.  I'm going to keep looking though!

One of the fun things about Haiti is that they speak several languages.  The main languages here are Creole and French.  A lot of the signs are in both languages.

Here is a sign that I saw.  Can you see the French?  Can you see the Creole.  They look alike and sometimes sound alike, but are different languages. 

When I was traveling, I was able to see some of the country.  Here is a picture of me next to a lake.  It was really big!

I also went and visited a school here.  It was really cool and the teachers were really nice. 

This is the National School in Hatte Chevreau.  The teacher held me up so I could see the sign better.  I went inside with them and the teacher taught a lesson.  He was really nice. We laughed a lot!



They even gave me my own seat at one of the desks.  I can't wait until the other students get here and we can talk about our different schools.

I hope everyone is doing well.  More adventures to come!

Your friend,

Flat Stanley

My Thanksgiving in Florida!

Hi Kids!

Guess where I am?  I am in Florida with Mrs. North and Dr. Appelgren and their family.  They invited me to spend Thanksgiving with them.  Isn't that nice?  I am having so much fun!    When you get this letter, you will be back in school after Thanksgiving vacation, so I hope that you had a great Thanksgiving with your families.  Did everyone eat lots of turkey?  I did!

Here is a picture of me at Thanksgiving dinner

 Yum yum!  Does my dinner look like yours did?  I bet that we had a lot of the same foods!  A lot of you asked me about if the foods and traditions are the same in Florida as in Rock Hill.  As you can see, the food is the same.  They also have the same cars, buildings, schools, stop signs, and trucks.  Have any of you been to Florida before?  Can you find it on the map?  When you find it, you can see that it is another state in our country.  There is only one state between South Carolina and Florida.  Do you know what it is?

Martavious wanted to know if I had fun in Kyrgyzstan.  Yes, I sure did!  But I had to fly on many planes to get there; it is a different country, far-away from us.  Florida is so close that you can drive there!  Since Florida is in the United States and it is close to South Carolina, many things here are the same as back home.  But, some things are different.

Cierra asks "Do they have a beach?"- When you look at the map, you can see that Florida must have a lot of beaches.  Some are on the Atlantic Ocean like the beaches in South Carolina, but some are on the Gulf of Mexico.  Can you find the Gulf of Mexico on the map?  I am in the middle of Florida so there is no beach here but there is a pretty lake!  Here, I will show you a picture:

 Maybe next time I come here we will go to the beach!

Anna asked "Do they have different animals than us?" - well, some animals are different.  Since there is so much water, they have a lot of animals and birds that like the water.  For example, sometimes in the lake they see alligators!!!  I didn't see one though- it would have scared me!  I did get a picture of a heron.  It is a kind of bird that gets its food from the marshes and lakes.

When I saw it, it was in a marsh and it caught a snake to eat!!!  They had a big fight- here is another picture:

Can you see that the snake wrapped itself around the bird's head???  The bird won, and eventually he ate the snake.

Logan asked about fake animals!  He asked "Do people put plastic flamingos in their yards?"  Not everyone, but I saw one and took a picture to show you!!

Amari and Sean want to know what Florida looks like and if the sights are different.  It is much warmer in Florida than in South Carolina.  It never even snows at all here!  So, the sorts of plants that they can grow are different.  There are a lot of palm trees and other tropical plants.  This morning, you might have had a kind of juice that came from fruit trees in Florida.  Can you guess what kind of fruit trees they have here?









That's right!  They have a lot of orange trees!!  I took a picture with one of them so you could see

Here is another one so you can see the whole thing:

Well that is about it!!  I hope that you enjoyed this letter.  I can hardly wait for my next trip!!

Your friend,
Flat Stanley

Time to go back home!!

Hi there kids!

I have had a long, wonderful trip to Kyrgyzstan, but now it is time to head back home.  Did Mrs. North show you the presents I sent?  Did you like them?

I want to answer a few more of your questions before I leave!
First, Carlee wants to know: Do you have the same stop sign?
Well, actually they don't!  They spell the word Stop in their own alphabet.  Here is an example:

Remember that they use a "c" for the S sound - also they have a different symbol for the P sound!  Can you find the stop sign in this picture?  Sometimes when you go to a different country even the everyday things look totally different!  It is fun to learn about other people's countries and cultures!

Next, Chloe wants to know: What do people like to eat there?
People here eat many of the same things that you probably eat in Rock Hill, like hamburgers and pizza.  But the places that they eat are different.  There is not even one McDonalds or any other American restaurants in the whole country!

Sometimes the food is the same but it looks different.  For example, people here like to eat bread but it is baked in a different way so the traditional bread looks like this:

You can see a cup of hot tea here too- people like to drink hot tea with every meal- I think that is because it is very cold here in the wintertime!

There are also traditional foods here that are special for the Kyrgyz culture.  Here is one traditional food called monty- it is a dumpling filled with onions and meat:

It was very tasty!  Does this look like anything you have tried before?  What are traditional foods that you like to eat in your family?

People here also shop for food in a different way.  In the big cities there are supermarkets like we have in Rock Hill, but many people still shop in traditional outdoor marketplaces called bazaars.  They are places where farmers and families come to sell their food.  Dr. Appelgren and I went to visit one.  Here is a picture:

How is it different from the place that you shop for food?
Do you see anything else interesting in this picture?

Finally, Sean wants to know: What animals can you see there?
There are so many animals!  Many of them are the same as animals in Rock Hill, like sheep, goats, cows, and horses.  It is also very common for people here to have donkeys.  When I was traveling I saw many kids about your age riding donkeys and taking care of animals for their families.  Here are some of the pictures I took of animals:

This family uses a horse and wagon instead of a car.  Many people do have cars, but people in the country often travel using animals.  They usually stay to the side of the road so that fast cars and trucks can get around them.

Mrs. North- I put a video at this link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SgzZFiJeFNk

In the mountains, the only roads were shared by trucks, cars and herds of animals!  Here is a video that we took when a herd of animals had to pass us on the road!

I am excited to go home, but I am sorry that I didn't get the chance an answer everyone's questions.  For example, asking about the insides of houses and the insides of schools are very good questions, but I didn't get to go inside these places during my trip.  I hope that I can answer your questions on my next trip!

I can tell you a couple things that I learned on my trip.  First of all, I learned that it is a lot of fun to meet new people and learn about how their lives are different than mine.  Sometimes things seemed strange or funny to me, but then I realized that the things that make us different also make us special.  I am sure that some of the things that I have or do would seem funny to them!

Also I am very thankful for everything that we have in Rock Hill.  Here is a water pump in a village in the country:

The kids in this village have to go from their houses to this pump with buckets that they fill with water.  It must be very heavy to carry a bucket full of water all the way home!  They have to do this because there is no water in their houses.  Now when I use the sink to wash my hands I will remember that I am lucky because not all kids have water in their houses or schools!

Last, I made a lot of friends.  Here I am with Dr Appelgren and some new friends.

This is Ali and his dad.  Ali is about your age and he likes soccer, playing with his friends, and going to school!  He speaks two languages- Russian and Kyrgyz- like most of the kids here!  He likes to eat bread filled with potatoes and drink tea, like in this picture.  There are nice people to meet everywhere!

I can hardly wait to tell you about my next adventures!

Your friend,
Flat Stanley