Meet Priscilla
Priscilla likes to write, so I am introducing her to what a blog is. Here is my interview with her:
M (for Mommy): Tell me something about yourself Priscilla.
P: I'm eight years old...no, I mean, nine years old. I like to hula-hoop and I like my teacher.
M: What are some of your hobbies, other than hula-hoop?
P: Playing with paper dolls, gymnastics, reading, running, crochet and knitting, and pretending to be Mommy (when I'm not supposed to).
M: What do you think about home-schooling next year?
P: I think it will be fun to learn to cook, and doing crafts together.
M: You know, we will be doing things like reading, writing and math and science too, right?
P: MM..hmmm. Right. I might miss school a little bit.
M: Why are you always happy and cheerful?
P: 'Cuz God makes me happy and fills me with His love.
M: I like to hear you say that Priscilla. What makes you sad?
P: When Timothy hurts me.
M: What's your favourite day of the week?
P: Umm. Friday - 'cuz we have family night. When we have family night it's really fun 'cuz we get to watch movies together and sometimes play games like potato-sack races.
M: Aren't you glad it's Friday today!?
P: Yup.
M: What happened today?
P: I lost a tooth at school while we were finding information on Poland. We're learning about Poland in school. It's been surprising to learn different things about Poland like how many different things they eat and how they serve a meal. First they serve soup and then the main course and at the very end they have sweet coffee or tea.
M: What happened when you lost your tooth?
P: I got to go to the nurse and she gave me a treasure chest (tooth-sized) and wrote my name on the chart of all the kids who lost teeth this year at school.
M: Would you like to learn Polish and visit Poland someday?
P: I sure would enjoy that!
M: You know, Mommy and Daddy went to Poland when Caleb was inside me!
P: No, I never knew that.
M: Thanks for chatting with me Priscilla!
P: It was fun. Thanks Mommy.
Priscilla, it's not always necessary...although very nice!...to visit another country and learn different things about the people who live there. When I first moved away from Chicago, my mother and daddy brought us to a small town,,,it's really more of a neighborhood, although it does have a mayor, and police department and all the other city things. Anyway, this place is called Hamtramck and it was where people newly arrived from Poland came to live and find jobs and begin their families. When they arrived, I'm sure that they were lonesome and missed all the things that reminded them of Poland...so they were able to continue some of the same traditions of their place of birth. Many of the stores had sales people who spoke Polish and could help the newcomers. I remember one store that sold blankets and pillows...and you could go to different small barrels and pick out the kind of feathers you wanted inside your pillow or your comforter...chicken, duck or goose...or a mixture. It was a Polish custom for the brides' parents to give the newlyweds the linens for their bed. When the fillings got worn out, this store was able to refill the cases with fresh, new feathers! There were always small bits of down in the air, which floated on the sunlight!
ReplyDeleteAnother place I remember was the drugstore where I would go to buy comic books...sort of like a graphic novel...but which had a huge round glass container by the cash register and which contained many shiny, black leeches!!! The new Polish immigrants were from farm areas and would have to take care of accidents without the help of a doctor. They knew that putting leeches on a bad bruise would make it heal much faster, so they brought that old-fashioned wisdom to their new country. Pretty smart, huh?
I went to an elementary school named for Casmir Pulaski, who was a Polish soldier who fought in the American Revolution. My junior high was named for Nicholas Copernicus, a very famous scientist, who is known for being the first person to figure out that the planets revolve around the sun.
Probably the most common way for people to make themselves less homesick when they are so far from where they grew up is to cook many of the same recipes. I learned about cabbage rolls and kielbasa, paczki and crusciki, czernina, pierogi, and dill pickle soup!
There are many more memories I have of growing up in a Polish neighborhood, including going to Sunday School where only Polish was spoken. Even though I didn't understand the words, the hearts of the people were filled with God's love...and that's is so important.
If you are still studying Poland, maybe you could share some of my memories with your class. Better yet, find a good Polish bakery and try some paczki!
Love,
Aunt Barbara
Wow - Priscilla will enjoy reading this in the morning - thank you Aunt Barb - you are teaching her many things from afar! And she loved her birthday presents! Her purse was so fancy and full of fun! She is going to love writing her journal - I will have to post some of the good things she writes sometime!
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