Happy Christmas from Amisadai



Happy Christmas everybody! I hope you had a lovely time... we did!

OUR CHRISTMAS

On Christmas day morning we opened our stockings, and got lots of presents inside! I got sweets, a puzzle, little notebooks, hair elastics, and tissues. Then we had a lovely breakfast of delicious sweet bread. And I had made smoothies, which I found on the National Geographic website for kids. It is made with frozen banana, two oranges, ½ cup of vanilla yogurt, food colouring (you don’t have to), and we added mango juice, and baobab juice as well. 

Christmas Breakfast

Then we opened our Christmas presents. I got books, clothes, sweets, some lovely jewellery and some other things as well. We went to Andy and Angela’s with the Wingfields for a Christmas lunch. We had roast duck and LOTS of other things! Then we stayed for tea. So you see, we had loads of fun!



Our Christmas Tree from the garden

PRESENTS FROM IKUKA

Before Christmas we went to a village called Ikuka to say good bye to the stoves group there. We stayed there for lunch which was rice, beans and meat. And we drank soda.  Then they said they had some presents for us. So they went out and came back in with the presents. First they each gave us some eggs. It was so funny because they all came in a long line, each holding an egg! Then they gave a bucket of corn. Then they came in with a chicken (alive) and last of all ………. a goat!!!! And it was alive! I called him Johnson and now back in Iringa, in the mornings I take him to pasture. I love having a goat! But he will have to find him a new home very soon.

Johnson the Goat

We have now found new homes for most of the baby rabbits, and also for the mum. Soon the others will go too.

Saying goodbye to the rabbits

We now have six puppies!  They were born just before Christmas! Two are black and white, three are brown, and one is brown and white. The mother Lily, has made a den underneath a log and pile of wood.


A little puppy!

 

Little Ruaha River Investigation at Masumbo

We went to Masumbo, to the Little Ruaha River to do an investigation.



 

First we had to cross the river to get to the bank on the other side. We went on the zip wire which is so much fun!


Amisadai ready to cross the river

We measured how wide the river was at one place and how deep it was all the way across. Then we were able to draw a Cross Section of the river, which shows us what the river bed looks like. Amisadai can tell you more about what we discovered.

We also did a pooh-stick experiment. Amisadai sat at a rock and I sat 5 metres down the river. We measured the time it took for a stick to get from Amisadai all the way to me. We did this eight times. Then we did the same thing but with oranges. Mum had to go in and try and catch the orange! She jumped up to her chest in water with all her clothes on!

We discovered that the average time taken to travel 5m was 11.22 seconds for the stick and 11.67 seconds for the orange. (We did a lot of maths when we got home.) By dividing the 5m distance by the time, we then calculated that the speed of the Little Ruaha at our first site was 0.45m/s. We did it all again further up the river and it was only 0.29m/s. (Amisadai and Mum helped me write this bit all this out!)

You should try it at a river where you live and see what the flow is for your river compared to ours. Let us know what you discover!

We sat on some rocks and did some sketching of the river. We also sat and wrote down and took photos of our observations.



SIGNS OF EROSION



SIGNS OF TRANSPORTATION

I observed that the river bank was eroding because I could see trees had gone and were almost gone! I saw evidence of transportation when I saw a bit of tree trunk stuck by the river bank. I observed the river bed and bank was very soft sand and there were lots of rocks. We took a river sample back to Iringa.

I also drew a map of the river at Masumbo, wrote a river poem and did a river painting and made river collages with our photos.



WATERFALLS: ENERGETIC RIVER!
Look at the cool erosion in the rock where I am pointing!

And one more thing ... I just put another book review on our book review page. 

Hot by the Little Ruaha River

It was very, very hot in Kimande! It was like you were boiling in a kettle! But these neck coolers that Mrs Beard sent us from Canada are very good! You need to put the strips of fabric in water and there are some little beads inside and they get bigger after an hour. Then you put the puffy neck cooler on your neck. It feels very nice when you are very hot! We dried them and can use them again next time.


The neck coolers  before they puffed up!

Mum wearing her neck cooler to cook the lunch when it was so hot.

This is my friend Diana. Diana and I are drinking a sprite which is also good when it is too hot. Diana is my best friend.

As well as being very hot, it is also very dry! We were down at the river (The Little Ruaha River) which is about a 15 minute walk from our house. We like it because there are islands at the moment and I like islands. Why is this river so much lower now than it was in July? Look at the picture from July - the river is fall of water!  Do you know why it is so different? We are learning about rivers at the moment. Do you know that rivers always go down hill and go to sea? This river goes to the Indian Ocean. We will tell you more about rivers in the next blog after our River Investigation field trip on Friday.           


The river last week in November
 

The same bit of river in July




We think we saw a crocodile so ran away, but we are not too sure!
Do you think it looks like a crocodile in the middle of the photo?

Here is Amisadai walking back from the river. We went with Mama Sungura and we brought back mchicha (like spinach) from her garden! I think Amisadai looks like a pink carrot.

 

 

And here are some fish that a man caught in the river. He was going round the village with a bucket selling them.

 

 

 

Vet Work in Dodoma

Sorry we haven’t done a blog for a long time! We have been very busy, living in the village. We have had a lot of visitors as well! We have been to the village a lot and dad has been to Dar es Salaam a lot and we just went Dodoma for a few days.


Making our rockets on Guy Fawkes Day

 

Launching our rockets (it was a baking soda and vinegar reaction but wasn't as good as we'd hoped!)



DODOMA
Last Thursday we went to Dodoma, the capital city of Tanzania! We were supposed to be going for a graduation, but then that didn’t happen, but as we had planned it all, we went anyway. We have been there once before. It only  takes four hours to get there now because the Chinese are building a good road. On the way we stopped for lunch at a big Boabab tree. Here, people put sticks into the tree and then climb up on them to get honey as Boabab trees have bee hives in them.



Louisa climbing the Baobab Tree

We stayed at a place called MAF. It is a the base for the Mission Aviation Fellowship and has guest house …  and it has a swimming pool! We don’t have any swimming pools in Iringa, so it is a real treat! We had lovely food. The first night we had pizza and the second night we went to a Chinese restaurant called  ‘The New Dodoma Hotel.’ It had a lovely playground.  On the way there and back, we saw lots of whirlwinds. There were big ones, tiny ones, and massive ones. The coolist one was where the soil was red. The whirlwind went red because of the soil!



Not the best photo, but one of the whirlwinds we saw!

We met Amy Dixon while we were there. She came to neuter lots of cats. I think that I would like to be a vet when I am older and it was a good experience to watch Amy do an operation. I felt a bit funny when she was pulling out bits from the cat’s tummy. But I really enjoyed watching! We were in someone's living room! Everything was very clean; it had to be sterile. The cat really didn’t like getting the needle which put her to sleep! Her eyes looked creepy when she was asleep because they were open. Cath, who was helping had to keep putting in eyedrops. Amy was very careful and did a good job. I was the operation photographer.   

Veterinary work

We took a man called Gideon back to Iringa. He is from an organization called Sunseed Trust. He came back with us and Jesca to the village learn how to make our clay stoves. He went back to Dodoma yesterday.


Gunpowder, Treason and Plot

Today is Guy Fawkes Day! We have been learning about King James I of England - the first Stuart King, and the events of the Gunpowder Plot in 1605.There are lots of rhymes about what happened all those years ago, so we decided to write our own! And in case you missed the news about what happened ... here is a copy for you!




We are just about to blow up some rockets (just outside - not the Parliament buildings). So will let you know how that goes soon!

Gunpowder Plot

Let us remember

The fifth of November

When a gunpowder plot

almost got the lot …

Jealous James and his parliament pals

 

Some friends of Guy,

Gunpowder did buy,

stashed it in a secret cellar.

It was the king they wanted to kill,

All went well with plans until …

 

Tattling Tresham told the tale,

And the soldiers came and sent Guy to jail.

This was the end of the planned powder plot,

And in the end, it was James got the lot!

 But it is Guy we remember on the fifth of November!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Today is Canadian Thanksgiving Day! The first thanksgiving for Canadians was in 1578, when Martin Frobisher discovered Labrador. He had sailed all the way from England looking for a route to Asia. He landed in Canada safely and wanted to thank God for that, so he had a party! Some local people joined in. That was how Canadian thanksgiving began. People have been celebrating ever since! Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

At school we were learning about Joshua and the Israelites. And this is a good thanksgiving lesson! The Israelites had not been thankful and grumbled and complained but Joshua reminded them of every thing God had done for them. To remember all God had done for them, each tribe of Israel put a stone on big pile by the River Jordan. Sometimes we need reminding to be thankful! We have been thinking about things that we are thankful for and have written thanksgiving poems.  Here is my one...

Thanksgiving

 

On this day of thanksgiving,

We are grateful for the splendour of living.

I love soft, silky bunnies

I love kind cuddly mummies.

 

God's gorgeous creation is a joy in my heart,

Along with my family and friends.

I love you God and I thank you,

For all these marvellous things.

 

 

Thanksgiving  Day

(by Louisa Monger)

On this day of thanksgiving

I am thankful for God ‘s pretty and beautiful creation.

I love the sun shining on me and the sky so big and blue.

I am thankful for friends and family

They make me happy and they are funny.

I love to have visitors who make things fun.

But most of all, I love you, God.

 

So now you have seen some of things we are thankful for (we have more on our coloured card on the wall). What are the things you are thankful for? List them here in the comments and that will be like adding your "rock" to our pile of reminders to be thankful!

Bunnies, Teeth and Firing Fun

We finally have bunnies! And they have stayed alive! We have six babies; one pale beige and five black/grey.  They have grown their whiskers. I am very happy!



This week we fired the first 70 stoves. It was exciting! First we carried lots of wood and you can see Louisa with her big pile on her head! We lit hay and put it in to start the fire. It was very hot. I got up in the middle of the night and went to check on it with Mum! They were having a little party.


Here we are carrying wood for the kiln.



Carrying firewood

We had some girls over and made beaded bracelets. They loved them! Kate brought a rocket with her and we all enjoyed playing with it outside. We also made some pots with the clay.



Bead Bracelets!

Playing with Kate's rocket!

Making pots out of clay

 Louisa is very gappy now! Since last week she has lost three teeth! And another one is about to come out very soon! They just keep coming out!

Look at all these stoves fired!

Louisa Lays Bricks

Last week we made two big stoves for the William Lukuvi school in Magozi. One stove is for cooking the ugali and one is for the beans. I helped with the jobs. I crushed bricks, mixed cement, put down bricks and made bricks the right size with cracks in between. It was very hot. Amisadai and I were also playing in the trees. And we found some pots and pretended to cook with them. We went to the staff room and did some homework there. I thought I was like the teachers ticking the work of the students!

Here I am mixing cement

Students looking at the photos of our school in England



I am a brick fundi! I learned how to lay bricks!

We did some homework in the staff room! We pretended we were teachers doing our marking!

When we came back from the village, we went to pick up our metalwork from Ugongo. They had made forty moulds for all the stoves groups for the next three years. It was a lot! We also picked up  all the door cut-outs. While we there the man said "would you like to see what we are making? We are making shoes." And so we went to see the men making shoes and footballs. They are very clever!



This man is making shoes



This man is making a football

Here I am holding a football that the man has made



Here we are with all the stove moulds and door cut-outs!

At the weekend, we went to Masumbo Campsite with lots of friends. We had a special little house and we slept in the roof. We had lovely food. I went across the river on the zipwire rope swing. It was really fun! Across the river, there were little islands in the water - there were lots of rocks. Jan (one of the adults) taught all the kids about Hands - Welcoming Hands, Strong Hands and Reaching Hands. We made a big cross and drew around all our hands on material and stuck them on. We had lots of fun.

Fun and Games in the Village!

This week, we started school. We are learning about the Tudor Period. It is very interesting. People wore huge puffed sleeves. We have started a long timeline. In science, Kate (mummy's cousin, who has come to visit) taught us about Living Things.

 

Last week in Kimande we taught some of our friends how to play 'What's the time Mr. Wolf?'' But we said "Mr. Lion" because there are not any wolves in Tanzania. They love it. But they say 'What's the time Amisadai?' instead!

 

The last time we went to the village, a duck had six cute little ducklings! I love them. The mum is a bit fierce though!













We had fun playing card games! We played with Salma, Diana, Yosepha and Ibu. They liked it, but it was very hard to explain and they didn't really get it! In Old Maid, they kept leaving their pairs in their hands, so the game didn't work!! But they had fun making houses with the dominoes. 

 







Playing Old Maid ... sort of.

 

On Sunday, we had lunch with Ezekiel and Bora and their little girl, Lightness. Lightness has really grown! She is quite heavy now! 

Louisa and Lightness
 



A big beetle bug we found! Ugh!





Dramas and Pets and Sickness

In Kimande

Living in Kimande has been so fun!  Louisa and I love playing there. We have lots of friends now. There is a baby donkey that I have stroked. I love him!  The stoves group is going well, all the stoves people seem to enjoy it! We have the bible study and meeting first, and then we go to make stoves. I have made lots of pots. I really like Baba and Mama, the older couple from Itunundu. They gave us a big sack of rice, a bag of peanuts and a beautiful shell! They are very kind. We have been to their house twice now, and both times they have given us mandazis ( which is a bit like a donut) and chai! We invited them back to town last week and got them some glasses  so now they can see better and read their Bible. 

Louisa in the rice bags!

Getting the bricks for the stoves group kiln

 Our Nutrition Drama

In one of the stove group meetings, we did a little play about all the different food groups (protein, wanga (carbohydrates), fruits and vegetables and sugars/fat).The story was about a man who wanted a good place to live. This represents how we want good healthy bodies. In this story, the house is like your body.

There was once a man who wanted a house. He thought about what he would need. “Aha! I need some bricks.” And off he went to get some bricks. Brick after brick the house grew. Finally it was done. The bricks are like protein, they are a good foundation and make you strong.

The man thought again. “I now need firewood to make a fire to keep me warm and to cook my food and boil my water.” So he went to find some firewood. When he returned he made his fire and cooked and kept warm. The wood is like the energy we need, the carbohydrates. After all his work, he was tired and needed a rest. So he lay down and fell asleep.  While he was sleeping a thief was creeping along. The thief went in the house and stole some things. Then he crept silently away.




Sleeping before the thief came

When the man woke up, he found his things were stolen and was upset. He thought. What could he do to stop the thief coming again?

"I know! I'll buy a lock!" he said. So he went and bought a lock.

"Now I can rest I peace!" The next night the thief crept silently to the house. Finally he reached the house and fumbled at the lock. But he couldn't get in. Annoyed, he ran off into the night. The thief is like disease, you  don't want it to enter your body.  The lock is like fruit and vegetables with vitamins and minerals that protect our body.

Finally, the man decided that he needed a light to work in the evening. He just needed a small light to read by. So he went and bought a candle which was just right! The candle is like the fats and sugars which we only need a little bit of to give us a little bit of energy. 



Candle (fats and sugars)

And that is the story of the man who had a good place to live. And that is why all the different foods are so important for our bodies! 

 

(I was the man and Louisa was the thief and she also did all the signs. We also both helped to hand out pictures of all the different foods and helped people to stick them under the right heading.

 

Pictures of protein carbohydrates



Pets

Remember we had some baby bunnies born? Four of the bunnies were darkish and one was lighter. But sadly they all died when we were in the village. Moab, our guard said that they were all scattered around the hutch. LAlso sadly, this morning we found one of our pussy cats dead. She was poorly and although the vet came to try and help her, she died. Now we only have Kettle left.

But happy news is that Andy and Angela have a new puppy. Today I went to Andy and Angela' s to wash him! He his so cute! He is creamy white and has beige ears! I love him so much! He really likes me too, and always follows me!

Sickness

Louisa is now very sick. We took her to the hospital and the doctor said she has amoebiasis. She keeps throwing up and has dirarrhea and has a very bad tummy.