Hi kids!
It is me Shelley writing this month and I am so excited to share some more information about the area we live and our traditions.
This time of year is still cold and we still have snow and ice. As the temperatures start to get warmer, there is a change in our maple trees. Maple trees are very common in Canada in fact, our flag has a maple leaf right in the middle of our flag. Inside the maple tree, in March and early April, sap starts to flow and when farmers put a special tap in the tree and attach a pail, the sticky sap from the tree can be gathered, cooked for many hours and turned into very, very delicious sweet syrup.
What I think you will find really interesting is that the maple tree in the summer has green leaves, in the fall, the leaves turn orange or red or yellow and then the leaves fall off of the trees leaving the branches bare and then in the spring, the leaves come back. Before the leaves come back is when the sap is running from the trees. Isn’t that amazing that one kind of tree can do all of that in one year?! Please look at the pictures I have sent so you can see a maple tree in the summer, fall, winter and spring.
I love maple syrup and many Canadians do. The most popular way to have maple syrup is to pour it on pancakes. Pancakes are made from flour, eggs, oil and milk and cooked on a hot pan. They are spongy like injera but do not taste the same. We also don’t eat pancakes with other foods like you eat injera with different watts or sauces. I have included a picture of pancakes so you can see what they look like. Writing about pancakes and maple syrup is getting me hungry.
Maple syrup can also be used in baking instead of using sugar. In fact, maple syrup can be used instead of sugar on cooked oatmeal for breakfast or other ways.
Julia and I went for a drive in our car the other day to look at the trees and grass because the day before we had had what is called freezing rain. I know you get rain in the rainy season. I want you to imagine what that would be like if that rain froze to ice when it hit the ground, trees, everywhere. I am not even sure if you have ever seen ice. Ice is water that has frozen. Some people like ice in their cold drinks to keep them really cold.
When we have freezing rain, it makes driving very dangerous because cars can slip and slide and have a very hard time stopping. Unless you absolutely have to be somewhere, when it is freezing rain, it is best to stay at home. Most people in Canada have two sets of tires for their vehicles. One set for the winter and one for the summer. The winter tires are made to not slide as much on the snow and ice.
We don’t have freezing rain a lot but when we do, when it stops and the sun is shining, it is a beauty I cannot even describe. The ice covers the trees, the grass, the roofs on our buildings, everywhere. Julia and I drove to take pictures for you to see. I hope you can see in these pictures the ice on the trees and grasses. Do you know what a diamond looks like and how it sparkles in the light? When the sun hits the ice on the trees and the grass, it looks like thousands and thousands of diamonds sparkling. It is a beauty that makes my heart sing. Do you know that expression? It means it makes me feel like I could cry because I am so impressed by and thankful for that beauty. It is like when I see you when I come to visit, I feel like I could cry because I am so happy, so happy to see all of you.
By the way, thank you so much for the Valentines video of many of you singing Skidermerinky Dinky Dink, Skidermerinky Do. I loved it and so did our sponsors and donors! Thank you! My heart was also singing when I saw the pictures of you having lunch at the Harar Ras Hotel. I am so thankful for the owner to give you that experience. Was the food delicious? Were you able to eat it all? What was your favourite part of the lunch? You all looked so beautiful and handsome! My heart was also singing to see many of you receive awards for your grades from your semester 1 results. Congratulations! All of the sponsors are so happy to know you are doing so well. They are all proud of all of you, all 92 of you!
Our sponsors, our volunteers and I have been given such a blessing in being able to support you, care about you and love you. Your letters are helping us get to know your culture, your country and your traditions much better. We are so thankful for your letters and feel it connects us in a very real way even though we live so far apart. I have been to Ethiopia many times but I am learning a lot from your letters too.
One of the things we are hoping our letters can do is to teach you some life lessons we have learned in our lives. One lesson my mom has taught me is to always do what you say you will do. It is so important to build trust in people isn’t it? When you know that someone will always do what they have told you they will do, you know you can depend on them and that feels good doesn’t it? When you trust someone, it allows you to feel closer to that person, it allows you to build a good relationship. When you always do what you say you will do, people will know they can count on you and will ask you to be involved in important work.
Don’t say you will do something unless you are committed to doing it and know that you can do it. Be honest if you are not able to do something for whatever reason. It is better to be honest and disappoint someone than to say you will do something, not do it and affect their trust in you.
Does that make sense? Maybe you can talk together about some examples of times you have said you would do something, did it and how it helped your relationship, how it made you feel? Maybe you can talk about examples of when someone told you they would do something and they didn’t do it and how that made you feel.
I have included a picture of my mom with this letter so you will know who taught me this lesson. My mom and dad are sponsors of your shelter.
Here are some jokes. I hope when you translate them, they will still be funny:
1. What is worse than finding a worm in your apple (worms love apples)?
Answer: Finding half a worm!
2. Why did the cookie go to the hospital?
Answer: Because she felt crummy.
3. What did the little corn say to the mama corn?
Answer: Where is pop corn? (some people in North America call their father “pop”)
4. What did the left eye say to the right eye?
Answer: Between us, something smells.
I hope our letters help you to understand how much we care about you and love you.
Shelley
