It really is a small, small world here at Curie Elementary. Many people call America the “great melting pot” and that’s because our country is like a great big pot filled with people from many different countries. Our school is no different. We have people from all over the world…Russia, Mexico, Korea, Japan, Israel, Germany, Philippines, Italy, China, England, Ireland, Brazil, Canada, Netherlands, and the list goes on and on. America was built by immigrants or people that moved here from other countries to start a new life. The only real natives to America are the American Indians who were living here for thousands of years. Other than that, everyone came from somewhere else at some point in their heritage.

Today we celebrated our multicultural community at our annual Multicultural Fair. Every year parents volunteer and create booths for many different countries. We rotate through the booths and learn about them. We eat food, look at artifacts, hear music, learn to write our names in different languages, and much  more. It’s a lot of fun! Here’s a little information about some of the countries we are from and/or visited today at our fair.

Israel is a small country with BIG history! It goes as far as ancient Rome and even farther. Israel has a special language called hebrew. The foods are different. For example,  instead of cutting salad ingredients in big chunks they cut them into tiny bits. Israelis also eat humus balls called falafel and lots of other foods! In Jerusalem there is the wailing wall. The wailing wall was once a temple but it got destroyed and now there is only one piece of the temple left standing, and that’s the wailing wall.

Brazil is a beautiful place. Even though we haven’t been to Brazil we just know it is a really cool place just by learning about it in 1 or 2 minutes at the fair.  Brazil has lots of beautiful beaches and lots of cool cities. The movie Rio takes place in Brazil. Rio is actually a real place or area in Brazil it is one of the beaches in Brazil. The country itself is one of the largest countries in South America. Brazil has lots of animals in Brazil’s forests like snakes, makas, monkeys, and lots of other animals and insects. Brazil is most known for its art. One of the pieces is a painting of one of the beaches in Brazil. In Brazil there is a statue called Christ the Redeemer and it is a statue that represents Christianity and if you stand next to it you have a awesome view of Brazil…and it feels like you are on top of the world. The climate change here has a very small effect on Brazil. Brazil is a wonderful place and maybe one day you should go there too.

Italy is famous for pizza, pasta, and cars. Italians make the lamborghini and they are really good at making pizza. A long time ago they had a Colosseum where gladiators fought to the death for the Emperor for his entertainment. The gladiators  fought lions and one on one fights with other men while lions ran around them.The Leaning Tower Of Pisa is also in Italy–it’s height of the  is 55.86 metres (183.27 feet) and it’s famous because it leans.

Myanmar is a beautiful country in Asia and is very nice. It was once called Burma. Myanmar people each some things that might seem unusual to you–they eat bugs you might think that is gross but once you taste it you will get used to it. Today at our fair some men were playing traditional music. There was a pattala (or xylophone) which was made from wood. It sounded very different but beautiful.

Mexico is a beautiful country too. One place that is called Acapulco is very beautiful tourist destination. Mexico has some delicious foods like, tortilla chips, churros, tacos, quesadillas, and many more yummy foods. We ate bunuelos which are tortillas dipped in cinnamon and sugar. They were very tasty.

Russia is the world’s largest country, covering 1/7 of the world. It has the Ural Mountains that start in the north, running to the south. Its capital, Moscow, has a population of 11,000,000,000! We saw nesting dolls at the fair. These are a famous type of Russian folk art.

On top of that, it started out as a trading post in the 1300s. Lake Baikal in Siberia is the deepest freshwater lake and contains 20% of the world’s freshwater supply. Russia is very rich in natural resources like timber, oil, and natural gas. Over 1,800 bears live in the wilds of Kamchatka alone! Now imagine tigers and leopards. The Amur leopard (Russia’s wild leopard) They are listed as critically endangered. They are not local to Russia and were brought over from East Asia and the Korean Peninsula.

England is a very fascinating place. It is a small island in Europe. It is home of Queen Elizabeth II. They love to eat fish and chips in England. London is the capital city and it has an ancient history that dates back to William the Conqueror in 1066! The Union Jack is the flag of Britain. It’s actually a combination of flags from Ireland, England, and Scotland.

Finally, Germany. Did you know they invented gummy bears and pretzels. Germans love soccer and beer! It’s a very small country in Europe. There is no speed limit on special freeways called the autobahn. Can you believe that? It must be very dangerous to drive there.

America really is a small, small world with its mix of many cultures. We like it and think it makes our country unique and interesting. What is your cultural background? Is your country a melting pot too?