“Stories & Fun From Around the World”
The “One World, Many Stories”summer readers gathered at the United Methodist Church for their “Stories & Fun From Around the World” program. Thirty-one children and fourteen adults welcomed our guest speaker, Ann Fitzgerald, who took us on a trip to Morocco a small country in northwestern Africa. Ann shared stories and items her and her husband, Joel, brought back from one of their trip to Morocco.
We began our trip deciding what to pack in our suitcases based on the very hot weather in Morocco. When we arrived in Morocco, the first thing the hosts did was to feed us, so everyone was served almond and dates. She then showed us a number of beautifully crafted items, telling a little about each. Many of the items were made of came bone – a doll, a small ornate box and a very small spoon. She also had a pair of shoes made from very soft leather that the women of Morocco wear (their feet must be smaller than those of us in the U.S. as the shoe sizes ran at lease 2 sizes smaller). She said the women wear very ornate and colorful garments with sequins and fringe sewn on them – even when they are working in their gardens!
Ann demonstrated how to board a camel for our ride to the sand dunes. She share several other interesting and humorous stories about this faraway country and its’ people.
Mrs. Fitzgerald invited four of the kids come up and help her. She asked each of them to smell what was in a plastic bag and write down what they thought it was. When they were finished
deciding what was in each bag, she told the audience about the dogs who sniff out your luggage as you go through customs. The dog was asked by his trainer ‘which bag’ and he put his foot on Ann’s carry-on bag. It is against the law to bring and fruits and vegetables into the U.S. from other countries. The attendant at the customs gate asked if she had any fruits or vegetables in her case and she said, “No.” Now remember the bags the kids tried to identify by smell? They contained an orange in one, an onion in another, cinnamon in one and almonds in the last one. None of the children identified the sack with almond nuts in it. When the man at the customs gate opened Mrs. Fitzgerald’s suite case, they found some almonds! They let her go ahead and take the nuts with her as they were not on the list of illegal food items. However, the dog had such a sensitive sense of smell he could tell there was something in her carry-on case that perhaps should not be in there.
Thanks so much Ann for coming and sharing with us about our neighbors in Morocco.
We still had a little time left so we had a chop-stick and cotton ball relay and put together a floor puzzle of the United States. Ms. Jean told a folk tale from Australia called “Why the Platypus is such a Special Creature.” Thanks everyone for coming and making our summer reading program so much fun!
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