Endeminachu! Akam!
Hello dear friends - I have tried to remember the wonderful new words you taught me in one of your recent letters!
I am so impressed with the many languages you all know (or are learning). I only speak one language, English, even though I took classes for almost 15 years to help with my French. One summer I went to a very small town in Quebec where almost everyone speaks French and took part in a special learning experience there. I lived with a family and had to speak French all the time. I am sad to say I am still not very good at it. I need to try again and keep working at it. All of you at Tesfa’s Shelter inspire me to put more effort into learning a second language. It’s important to always be learning! Even when things are challenging, we should not give up. I think my main problem is that I am scared to look silly when speaking a language I do not know very well, because I know I will make mistakes. Isn’t that a strange reason not to try? I need to push myself past that fear!
Canada has two official languages, English and French, which means many of our products here have to include labels in both languages. For example, packages of food show ingredients in both English and French. I went to university in Ottawa, which is the capital of our country. Since our federal government is based there, French is very prominent.
Sometimes I even have some trouble remembering the words I am trying to use in my one language. Haha! Does that ever happen to you? You can think of what you want to say, but your brain can’t think of the word?
In one of your last letters, you said you were reading fiction on your vacation from school - what did you read? Do you have any favourite books that are enjoyed by many of you at different ages? I love reading. When I am giving gifts to the children in my life - such as my friends’ kids or my little nephew - I try to always give at least one storybook to help others develop a love for reading like me! Our sweet nephew is named Jayden and he just turned one year old! We got him a book about a baby duck and the pages had a duck with a little circle of fuzz you could touch with your fingers. We also got him a book about bathtime.
I like going to the public library, which is a service funded by our government so that everyone in the community can borrow books and then return them so others can also read them. Do you have a library at your school? One of my favourite activities is picking out a big stack of new books to read. Do you want to hear something a little bit funny? I usually pick based on the covers that attract me. In English, we have a phrase “don’t judge a book by its cover,” which is a reminder that people and situations in life are not always as they seem at first. Someone may be very different inside compared to our first impression! Though I try not to judge people based on how they look, I actually do judge books by their covers! I hope this still makes sense when it is translated to you - I know some “expressions” do not really work when they are converted into other languages.
You also asked us to share any other manners we thought were important! I loved reading the characteristics and etiquette that you are learning. One lesson that is close to my heart is picking up after yourself. Sometimes that is inside, like in the rooms where you sleep, or cleaning up after a meal, but it also means not leaving garbage lying around! That litter, like food packaging, soda bottles or plastic bags can get into rivers or lakes or other places in nature and create a big problem! Kids in our neighbourhood leave the wrappers from their snacks around our home when they are playing outside and it really upsets our family. In most Canadian cities, the government comes to collect our garbage outside people’s homes, so there is no excuse for leaving pieces of it on the ground! I know it can be hard not to do something when other people are doing it, but all of you at Tesfa’s Shelter are true leaders at your school and in your community. You could show others the way by not littering.
It is so amazing that some of you are learning to drive a car! What a privilege it is to learn and have that skill! I love to drive. Sometimes I do get a little upset when other drivers are not following the rules of the road. I do not think I would be brave enough to drive in very big and very busy cities, like Addis Ababa. I once was able to visit Uganda, and driving in their capital city seemed very scary to me!! They use many roundabouts - do you know that word? Maybe it is called a traffic circle where you live? - and everyone all drives into the circle at once, including buses, cars, motorbikes, trucks and all sorts of other vehicles. I had to close my eyes because I always felt like we were about to crash! I hope the driving lessons are going very well for you 🙂
Have a wonderful month my friends!
Love,
Megan, on behalf of the entire Friends Ink team