July 20th, 2010
We have spent the two days traveling around the country to Arizona, and the World to France. We got the chance to visit the Navajo Nation and learn about the Native Americans. When we went to France, we had the chance to visit the Eiffel Tower, see the Statue of Liberty and paint like Van Gogh. Come take a look at our journey so far!
July 20th, 2010
Camp seems to be flying by! We have been learning vocabulary about the community, different cultural topics, and we even started reading in Spanish!
Don’t worry, I’m not crying! You’ll just have to wait until the presentation to see these acting skills.
July 17th, 2010
On Monday, July 19th at 6:30pm, Jörg Gestchke, a German musician, will be performing as well as talking about German folk music. Some of the folk music focus on love, freedom, forests, etc. He will also be discussing the importance of the Molln Festival, which works towards building friendships among various cultures in the Molls area. Come out to Ephrata Park and enjoy the sounds of the talented Jörg Gestchke.
July 14th, 2010
How many people were there on the earth in 1900?
There were only 1.2 billion people. In just 100 years the world grew to 6.1 billion in 2000. This was due largely to a drop in the mortality rate in the development world. Modern medicine such as immunizations and surgery helped prevent and treat previously fatal illnesses.
What is the “Day of 6 Billion”?
Day of 6 Billion is the official name the United Nations gave to October 12, 1999. This is the day that the world’s population tipped from 5,999,999 to 6,000,000.
What region of the world has 60% of the human population?
Asia. With over 1.3 billion people in China, Asia accounts for more of the world’s people than any other region. While families in some cities are shrinking, rural populations are still having large families and many of those children are growing up healthier than in the past. People across the world are also living longer, further adding to the population increase.
What two countries each have over 1 billion people?
China and India. While China has 1.3 billion, India comes a close second with over 1.1 billion people.
What is the third most populated country?
The United States. The USA has approximately 307 million people. After the United States, the next three most populous countries are Indonesia, Brazil and Pakistan.
July 9th, 2010
On Saturday, July 10th from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., the Eastern Mennonite Missions will be holding a Global Fair at the Lancaster Mennonite School. This fair features:
- international foods
- interactive exhibits
- activities for children
- stories from missionaries
- free admission and parking
DON’T MISS THIS CULTURAL EVENT! For more information you can visit their website at
July 7th, 2010
I’m sure that you have seen the tango and watched the infamous sport of fútbol, but have you seen the two together?
Check out this link, in light of the Fifa World Cup, to see tango being performed while playing fútbol.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Imc7yMY9amc
Now give it a try!
July 3rd, 2010
No one can say for certain just how many languages are spoken at the World Cup. The teams hail from 32 countries and speak at least 27 languages among them. The host country of South Africa has as many as 80 lesser known dialects. Even if you calculate all of those languages, that still doesn’t take into account the thousands of fans who come from around the world to witness the epic sporting event.
Yet, when it comes to the field, there is a need for a common language (not always a spoken one) – a system for players, coaches, refs, and officials to communicate about the game.
Did you know that the official FIFA (Fédération Internationale de Football Association) rules dictate that the referees know at least a few key phrases in English? World Cup referees must pass a test of both written and spoken English before being hired. Knowing this, many of the coaches and players from non-English speaking countries also try to learn some English in order to communicate the basics with the refs.
The World Cup officials also created a common dictionary of hand signals to streamline non-verbal communication. This dictionary is available not only to the referees, but also to the teams, their coaches and the fans.
Arguing with a referee in any language won’t get you very far, as World Cup referees are not compelled to explain calls made during the games. Players, coaches and refs rely on the “international language” of body movement to demonstrate their message. When you watch a game, even if you don’t speak the announcer’s language, you can often interpret the ref’s call and how the players feel about it!
To further bridge the language divide, World Cup officials wrote a basic handbook of soccer-related themes in six languages – English, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, and Spanish – to help players, coaches, and spectators.
The common language that unifies the games is found in the players’ emotions, facial expressions, and body language. No matter what language you speak, there is no confusion over the unmistakable disappointment on the faces of the defeated, or the elation of the victorious.
June 30th, 2010
Here are the answers from the newsletter. Are you an expert of the World Cup?
Q. South Africa has ___ official languages.
A. 11
Q. The FIFA Website has six foreign language versions. Can you guess what they are?
A. They are: English, French, Spanish, German, Portuguese, and Arabic.
Q. English is the official language of how many World Cup teams?
A. 7 – Australia, Cameroon, England, Ghana, New Zealand, Nigeria, and USA
Q. Even prior to preparing to host the World Cup, South Africa’s road signs were written in _____.
A. English
Q. Broadcasts of the 64 games are also available for online viewing with: 1.) International Sign Language OR 2.) American Sign Language?
A. International Sign Language
LANGUAGE CHALLENGE!
Check out these websites where you can watch the games in a foreign language:
To visit the official website for the 2010 FIFA World Cup: http://www.fifa.com.
For more information on the World Cup and up-to-date statistics of the games, visit ESPN’s Soccernet site: http://soccernet.espn.go.com/world-cup/
June 28th, 2010
Just as promised, here are the rest of the recipes and presentations from Friday.
Rice with Beans
Ingredients:
1 lb. of raw rice 1/2 lb. bacon (optional)
1/2 cup sofrito 1 can pinto beans
1 envelope of sazon seasoning Salt to taste
water
1 can chicken or beef broth
Directions:
In a rice caldero (pot) cook the bacon until is crispy. Take out the cooked bacon and chop into small pieces. In the same bacon fat, stir the sofrito for 2 minutes. Add the cooked bacon, the tomato sauce, the pinto beans, the raw rice and the beef or chicken broth and stir well. Add enough water to cover the rice, about 1 1/2 ince above rice line. Let it boil on medium high until water evaporates. Cover your pan with aluminum foil and cook over low heat for about 35-45 minutes.
Sangria
Ingredients:
1 Bottle of Hawaiin Punch
1 Lemon cut into wedges
1 Orange cut into wedges
2 Tbsp sugar
2 Cups ginger ale
Addition ideas: sliced strawberries, peaches, handful of fresh blueberries, raspberries, kiwi, a shot or two of gin, brandy or rum, a cup of ginger ale, citrus soda pop or lime juice.
*If you’d like it as an adult beverage, just replace the Hawaiin Punch with one bottle of red wine and also add a shot of brandy.
Directions:
Pour wine in the pitcher and squeeze the juice wedges from the lemon and orange into the Hawaiin Punch. Toss in the fruit wedges (leaving out seeds if possible) and add sugar and brandy. Chill overnight. Add ginger ale or club soda just before serving.
If you’d like to serve right away, use chilled red wine and serve over lots of ice.
The morning presentation:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wRrWDeQ8DwM
The afternoon presentations:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FCgWl8VqFTs
Summer, Olivia, Amani
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MDvOMIvf7NU
Olivia, Abby, Dulce
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IFIFSsbr7gg
Colin, Alex, Amani
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cdbCjlRPdqE
*These presentations are on youtube, however, they are only available to people that have the link.
June 26th, 2010
This week was great! We ended the week tasting rice and beans, plus had some roasted chicken. It was delicious! We also learned how to make Sangria.
*Recipes and a video of the afternoon’s class performance yet to come!