RMS

Any Vikings fans there in Rochester, Minnesota?  Well, if there are there looks like you have a fellow fan here in Rwanda!

What a great crew!

Thank you for the nice letter recently.  I have included it here so that I can respond to each of you.  I know summer is coming fast so I wanted to be sure to wish you each a wonderful end of school year and summer.  Thank you also for all the wonderful questions and comments that you had and contributed to this blog.  I have had a lot of nice comments from other people about how much they enjoyed your page of this blog.  Thanks. 

Below is the original letter and my added comments.

Hello Erin,

We wanted to thank you so much for blogging with us this year. It has been very beneficial and interesting to learn all of the neat things between our cultures. We learned so many things and I thought it would be a great idea for each one of the children to tell you their favorite part about our blogging experience. Our last day of school is June 9^th so if you do not get a chance to read this before then you can still answer or email me and I will make sure all of the children get it.

Thank you so much for the experience, 

Mark Seifert

Joshua thought his favorite thing was looking at all of the neat pictures you put up for us.  Thanks Joshua, do you think someday you would like to travel the world and take photos of the interesting things you see?

Sydney thought her favorite thing was reading all of the different things about Africa.  Fabulous Sydney, I wonder which thing that you learned was the most interesting to you-please let me know

Abigail thought her favorite thing was learning about the different types of book bags they made.  I like your choice Abigail, I too continue to be fascinated by the many and interesting alternatives the students find here for book bags.  A lot of students also just put their pen in their shirt collar if they have no bag at all.

Annika’s thought her favorite thing was learning about the types of bags they used for school things.  I think then, Annika, that there are three of us that agree that we like how when maybe someone doesn’t have the money to buy something they can still come up with many creative ways to create what they need from local materials.

Maddie Mae Ledford thought her favorite thing was that she got to talk with her Aunt Erin and learn about her experiences in Africa. Marvelous Miss Mae, it was a real privilege to be included into your Kindergarten year and I can hardly wait to see you this August when I visit!  I miss you!

Elizabeth thought her favorite thing was that things in Rwanda are different than things in North America like the Banana tree kind of looks like a coconut tree.  Good observation Elizabeth!  I guess that is one of the reasons so many people like to travel and see new places as it is so fun to see what is different from our own home.

Raquel thought her favorite thing was seeing all of the different pictures that you put up.  Thanks Raquel, I have taken a lot of photos, but not as many as I wish I could.  If only someone would invent a camera for the eye, then the world would indeed be full of some amazing photos.  Maybe when you grow up you could invent that.

Benjamin thought his favorite thing was seeing what kind of food that they ate and made.  Bon appetite Benjamin!  Do you think someday when you grow up you would like to be a chef or food critic?  Wouldn’t it be fun to travel the world and get to eat food for free and then write about it or use lots of new and interesting ingredients to create delicious food?

Lukas thought his favorite thing was the different types of animals that are found in Rwanda.  Animals are a fascination aren’t they Lukas?  I still can not get over seeing those beautiful lions in the Serengeti of Tanzania.  In just two weeks I will be going to visit the world famous gorillas of Rwanda and maybe go to a naming ceremony for this year’s baby gorillas.   What is your favorite animal?

Brinna thought her favorite thing was the pictures of the flowers found in Rwanda.  Brinna, then you are a girl after my own heart.  I too really love flowers and am captivated by some of the amazing flowering trees that I see here.  It is nice to live in a place that has flowers all year round indeed.

Neha really enjoyed looking at all of the pictures you posted.  Did you like the photos of the students here in Rwanda Neha?  It is a big deal for a lot of students here to have their picture taken as many have no pictures of themselves and enjoy having someone take the interest to take their photo.

Charlotte thought her favorite thing was looking at the different types of trees found in Rwanda.  Trees are amazing aren’t they Charlotte?  Just today I noticed two fantastic trees.  One was the largest plumeria I have ever seen and another was a large tree far in the distance that looked completely purple as it was in full flower. 

Mark our teacher thought his favorite thing was learning about cleaning and how things were taken care of in Rwanda.  Thanks Mark, I think it is amusing that I look forward to cleaning the floor here, but it really is fun to use that homemade broom, splash water on the floor, and then squeegee it out the door and be done.

Judy our other teacher really enjoyed the fact that we were able to share this experience with you and our cultures.  Hi Judy, it was great of you and Mark to take the time with the students to do this with me.  I think they are very lucky students indeed.

Thank you so much for this experience and we hope to hear from you soon.

The Birches classroom.

 

 Cleaning Day!

Greetings Birches Classroom!  I thought I would send you a message about cleaning my house here in Rwanda as I believe that as part of your school day you like to clean your classroom, and tidy up after yourselves when you have a snack.  I think because I just recently moved into a different home and have been spending a lot of time making it homier, which includes cleaning, that cleaning has been on my mind lately. 

The Broom

Just Add Water!

First I must say that I love to clean here as I get to use a homemade broom made from I believe a part of the banana tree frond and a squeegee.  First I sweep and dust my home, and then I get to pour water all over the floor and squeegee it out the door.  It is fun, easy and really does the trick.  Also I like this method as anytime I spill water it is okay as I can just squeegee it out the door.  All of this seems much simpler to me than the vacuuming I do at home.  Oh, by the way I don’t do my own laundry, but pay a neighbor to do it for me?  Why?  Well, there are no washing machines here so everyone does their laundry by hand and either hangs them on trees and bushes near by or on a clothes line.  I found that I was not very good at this method and had to find someone to help me or I think I would have ended up with a lot of dingy looking clothing.  However, with this help my clothes are sparkling clean and smell great!  I wonder what cleaning or chores you do at home, and what your feelings about cleaning are in general.  Let me know and have a super clean day!

By the way the photos are from my first house in Nyamata...I haven't taken any of my new home yet.



Kori Bustard



Its All About Migration

Names these fellows

Very good guesses!  However, that bird is known as the Kori Bustard and is thought to be the heaviest bird that can still get up enough speed to fly.  It doesn’t really like to fly, but rather spends most of its day walking around the Serengeti or other grassy places, eating insects and lizards.  Female Kori Bustards build their nests on the ground and spend most of their time waiting for the chicks to hatch sitting on the egg. 

Okay here is animal number two for you to take a guess at, however, I have a feeling it might be an easy one.

Where are they going?

Name That Bird!

Birches Classroom!  I have missed writing to you, but I hope you will think it was for a good cause.  I was out visiting people, places, and animals in Tanzania, a neighboring country to Rwanda.  Tanzania is famous for many things, including Serengeti National Park along with many other national parks.  These parks are famous as they are home to many of the interesting animals of Africa.  I hope you will look at my postings of just a very few, but for you I have some challenge photos.  I will post a few photos of animals I had never seen or heard of before and see if you can identify them.  

Here is the first…name that bird.



Name that bird!

 

 A Clever Way to Transport Books

Making your own school bag

 Greetings Birches Classroom!  I wonder if you remember when I wrote to you about some of the interesting school bags the students have here.  Some are made out of plastic bags that rice or other food products have come in, some are crocheted, while others are made out of large rice sacks or scraps of material.  Today I had the time to get a few photos and post them for you.

Sewn from rice sacks

 
Have you ever thought about what you have at home that could become a nice book bag for you?  Please think about it and let me know some of your wonderful ideas and innovations.  Have a fantastic day.  Turongera!  See you next time!

Answer Safari-What I do for fun

First thank you for sharing with me what you do for fun, I like doing many of those same things myself, especially spending time with my friends and family.  Therefore, it is will not surprise you to know that something I do for fun here is to spend time with my friends.  I have some very wonderful inshuti (friends) here who help me to learn to vuga (speak) Kinyarwanda, meet more friends, and in the case of last Kuwacyumwera (Sunday), teach me how to cook.  As you can see in the pictures last Sunday I spent the morning with my friend Jackson and his family learning to cook a traditional Rwandan dish of umugali (cassava porridge) and vegetables.  It was very fun, enjoyable, and delicious.  I wish you were here to try some right now.

I also like to visit schools, help teachers, watch local soccer games, go to the market, and to read books.  Thanks for asking and I hope you are all having a super day!

After the Good Detective Work-A Surprise!

Wow, Birches Classroom!  Your teacher Mark sent me a picture of you and your classroom and I really loved seeing you all waving and your lovely classroom.  How lucky you are to have such a great place to learn. 

Well, after two months in Rwanda and after seeing thousands of children I did see the very first child here wearing a pair of glasses.  Until seeing this young lady on Friday I had not seen a single child wearing a pair of glasses.  In fact, very few adults in Rwanda wear glasses either.  While many children in Rwanda may need glasses they are far too expensive for most families to buy and many children live too far away from a place that has an eye doctor to test to see whether or not they need glasses.  So far I have seen no person in Rwanda with braces.  Maybe this is because few people need them, or perhaps it is for the same reasons that there are so few glasses, they are just too expensive.

I still haven’t answered one of your excellent questions, “What do I do for fun?”  Watch for that answer soon, and while you are waiting maybe you can tell me some of the things you like to do for fun…it might be fun!  Have a great day!

Answer Safari-Glasses and Braces

Thank you for sharing your favorite flowers.  I look forward to seeing the pictures soon.  Because I grew up in Minnesota I am very familiar with the state flower and am also a big fan of that very pretty flower.  I think the state of Minnesota did an excellent job chosing the lady slipper, don't you? 

You had asked me the very interesting question of whether or not the students here wear glasses or braces and when I asked my friend Jackson he thought that he and I would let you put on your dectective hats and tell us. Take a look at some pictures from a recent school visit and tell me what you see.  Good luck!

Plumeria-ahhhhhhh, can you smell it?

 

Plumeria Tree in my yard.

  Answer Safari-Flowers
 

Yikes!  Sorry to have been offline there for a few days, but we had a big storm and lines and towers were knocked down so the internet was not working.  Anyway, I am back on line I am and ready to speak of one of my favorite subjects-flowers.  Ah, there are so many lovely flowers here and as I walk around town, or ride a motorcycle out to one of the schools I see so many different kinds of flowers than I am used to in Minnesota, Wisconsin, or Montana.  However, for any of you who have been to a place like Hawaii, a lot of these flowers will look familiar as Rwanda is equatorial like Hawaii is, and even though Rwanda is landlocked and Hawaii is an island they have a very similar climate.  Hot and rainy.  (I know I used some fancy words in there, but I am sure your teacher will tell you about them if you don’t know.)



However, back to the topic at hand, my favorite flower.  Hands down my favorite flower is the plumeria flower that grows on the plumeria tree. As good luck would have it there is a little one in my yard and being so far away from home and family it is one of my treasures.  I love these flowers as they are beautiful, hardy, and they smell delicious.  Have you ever had a flower that you thought smelled delicious and you just couldn’t smell deeply enough?  Well, if you had then you know how I feel about plumeria.  Speaking of which here is a question for you, "What are some of your favorite flowers or smells?"  I can't wait to find out.  Stay tuned for answer 4, and amahoro-peace from Rwanda!

I don't know the name, but it sure is pretty!

Answer Safari - Writing
Your description of your yummy sounding lunches made me hungry!  Thank you for sharing with me.  Maybe if you are interested I could post some of the pictures I have taken of school lunch here in the future.  

Notebooks and a pen for school work.



Two or three to a desk.

So what do I write on? Awesome kibazo (question).  Like most teachers I have notebooks that I write on, but when I am helping teachers in the classroom things are a little bit different here in Rwanda than in the United States.  In Montana, when I am teaching students I use markers on a whiteboard, large poster paper, or work with a large computerized interactive board.  However, for teachers in Rwanda these resources are not available so they either write on a chalk board or create a poster on a rice sack with markers.  What is a rice sack?  It is just what it sounds like, a large sack of woven plastic to carry rice.  Because they are cheap and readily available here some smart teacher somewhere in Western Africa figured out that they would be great for making posters and other visual aids.  The kids here come to school with small notebooks and pens to do their work. No pencils-I am not sure why, but it may be that they are hard to get here.  I’ll ask around. Interestingly, most kids do not have a book bag or backpack, but use a small bag made from a part of a larger rice sack that someone has sewn together for them.  Very smart use of materials, don’t you think?  Answer 3 coming soon!

Rice sacks for posters and a chalkboard.

Answer Safari-Rwandan Food

Charcoal Stove



That’s right!  That is a banana tree!  You all are so smart.  There are a lot, and I mean a lot of banana trees here.  That suits me fine as I love bananas and these local bananas, while small, are very birayoshe (delicious).   On Saturday I asked my friend and neighbor, Jackson, if he would help me with my Answer Safari and he happily agreed.        





Lunch with Jackson



Jackson thought it might be a good idea if we first answered the question about food as everybody likes to eat-right?  Luckily for me our first stop was lunch at his house with his sister, and my friend, Denise.  For lunch we has rice, beans, carrots, ginger, and onions all cooked on a charcoal stove.  We then went to the isoko (market) to take pictures of some of the food you can buy there.  While we could not take pictures of everything at the market we saw corn, cassava, sorghum, sweet potatoes, potatoes, beans, lentils, rice, dried fish, pineapples, papaya, bananas, passion fruit, jack fruit, limes, avocados, tomatoes, cabbage, green peppers, green beans, cilantro, carrots, ginger, and onions.    

Beans!


People were also selling salt, flour, cooking oil, and peanuts, as well as snacks like chapattis, samosas, something like a doughnut, and delicious deep fried mash potato balls.  We also say people buying chickens, goat meat, and beef.  What we did not see were people buying any milk or cheese, they are not very popular here because most people do not have a refrigerator to prevent them from spoiling. 

There was a lot of food there, but, that’s right, you guessed it, my only purchase was a bunch of lovely bananas!  Wow!  That was a long answer!  I think I will leave you with that answer to talk about and think about for today and send more answers that Jackson and I found on our Safari very soon!    Have a great lunch and let me know what you had.         

What do you see here?

  

Cassava Flour and Cassava

           

        

Dried Fish



Passion Fruit



Good Questions!!! 

What's this?!



Well done Birches Classroom!  I love your questions.  I think your questions are so good that I am going to go on an answer safari this weekend and try to post some good answers with pictures for you by Monday.  How does that sound?  Ni byiza?  Good?  All right, wish me luck and see you on Monday.  But in the meantime, can anyone tell you what this is a picture of?  If you can you will know part of an answer to one of your questions.

Can you find Rwanda?

Greetings Rochester Montessori School from Rwanda! 

I am happy to know that the Birches Classroom is ready for an adventure in Africa.  My name is Erin McRaith and I have a special connection to one of the young ladies in your class.  Can you guess who? 

I am here with an organization called CUSO-VSO helping teachers become the best teachers they can be for their students.  Most days I have to ride a motorcycle out into the countryside to reach the schools to work with students in their classrooms.  It is really fun, but I will tell you all about that later if you wish.  I hope that when you and your teacher have some time you will post a question for me and I will try to have some children here help me to answer your questions. 



Some of the students I have met.

How about if I ask you the first question?  Sound good?  Okay, here it is, “Have any of you ever been to Africa or know someone who has?”   Oh, that’s right.  I can’t see you.  Ummmm, what shall we do?  I know how about if you take a survey and get back to me.  Sawa?  That is a Kinyarwandan word for, “okay”.  In Rwandan the first language is Kinyarwandan, but they also speak French and English.   I suppose you can ask me more about that later too.  Have a great day and “talk” to you soon!

 

Maybe these girls will answer your questions or ask you one!