"This is what he looked like when he got here, I forgot to take a picture of him before I sent him home all dressed up in his bunad...I know, my bad!"
"Flat
Stanley" lives flat on a page and can fly around the world in an
envelope. He is part of a project for teaching children about reading,
writing, and learning about new places in the world. My Flat Stanley came to
visit me from Ohio, USA and this is what he wrote in the travel journal in took back to his class:
When I first arrived in Larvik, Norway-- running into the
Trolls scared me the most. Lucky for me Larvik is by the sea and Trolls live up
in the mountains. From Ohio to Norway, (as
the crow flies) there are over 4000 miles of land and sea. Larvik is a small
town in Norway known for having been the home to a great explorer named Thor
Heyerdahl and a ship builder whose name was Colin Archer. Colin Archer built a
famous ship called Fram that explored the North Pole. Not sure if he ever saw
Santa there or not, but I bet he saw a lot of reindeer. If you go far enough
North in Norway you do go over the polar circle. There are Polar bears there
but I did not get to see any here in Larvik. What I did get to see are Viking
graves and those are pretty cool. There are huge mounds all over Larvik and in
these mounds are Vikings that have been buried with everything they owned, even
their ships!
Easter here is very strange. It lasts a whole week and most
Norwegians go up into the mountains to stay in a cabin and go skiing. There are
no Easter baskets, but there are lots of Easter eggs and the kids here get big
ones filled with chocolate. I did not understand the language because it is
very strange but luckily the family I stayed with has an American mother and
her whole family speaks English very well. They gave me this outfit that I am
wearing. It is called a Bunad, which is their national costume. The 17th
of May is their National day and almost everyone wears one of these costumes on
that day and they all go in big parades and eat lots of ice cream. These
costumes are different depending on where in Norway you come from. I am wearing
the one from Larvik, so what do you think? I wish I could have stayed longer so
I could have gone in a parade and eaten lots of ice cream too. Maybe someday I
will come back and see some Polar Bears and Reindeer. Maybe even some Trolls.
To learn more about the "Flat Stanley Project" check out their website.
Have you heard of the Flat Stanley Project? One of my blogging friends gave my name to a teacher in Ohio, after I agreed to participate, and I am so glad that I did. If you happen to see him somewhere around your home, make sure to say hi from me!
Have a great week-end everyone. I will back on Monday with a reflection post on the A-Z challenge, hope to see you then.
