Ugly Vegetables and Fruits 

Our story for the week is called The Ugly Vegetable by Grace Lin. It focuses on a family that grows Chinese vegetables in their garden rather than flowers like the rest of their neighbors. The little girl in the story wonders why her families garden is so different from everyone else’s and calls the vegetables they grow ugly.  This story prompted great discussion on diversity and how just because something is looks different doesn’t make it ugly or bad. There was a great lesson at the end when all the neighbors come to the house where the vegetables are cooked into […]

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Fall Foods Near and Far

Fall has finally arrived! Besides the onset of cooler weather, wearing cozy sweaters and acclimating oneself to back to school routines, there is my favorite fall tradition of going apple picking. What made this fall even better was hearing from my family in Finland. They may not have gone apple picking, but they were gathering food as only the Finns can do. Back in the States, it doesn’t matter where I go, all that matters is that each fall I find a weekend to go and fill a bag with more apples than I could ever possibly consume on my own. […]

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Turku Medieval Festival

This summer I was lucky enough to be in Turku during the final day of their big medieval festival. Along with my sister, our family who live in Turku, picked us up from the train station and brought us right to the festival. It was quite the introduction to Turku! We had a great time wandering around from stall to stall. Many of the people were dressed in medieval clothes, helping to create a festive atmosphere. There were all kinds of handicrafts, food, and goodies to be bought, all of which were set for the time period. There were also […]

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Helsinki Favorites

Helsinki may just be my favorite city I have traveled to. Not too big, clean, easy to navigate and lots to see and do, what isn’t there to love? I loved spending some time there on my own before being joined first by my sister and later by my mum. It gave me a chance to discover some of my favorite places in the city and then share them with my family. Here is a break down of my favorite must see places and must do activities if you visit Helsinki. Sit on the steps of the Helsinki Cathedral. This […]

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A Little Something Sweet…or Salty

Something I love to do whenever I am traveling is try all kinds of new foods. This past trip was no exception. Breakfast, lunch and dinner, if there was a chance for me to taste something different from what I eat at home, I took advantage of the opportunity! This time as I traveled I decided it would be fun to try some different candies from Finland in addition to other foods. Now I have to admit, I am not a big candy fan. Have some chocolates to try, I am all in! But candy has never been my favorite. […]

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Great Eats Greek Style

It may have been weeks since I was in Greece, but I am still thinking about the delicious foods I tried while I was there. Fortunately, I am the luckiest teacher I know, and a student in my class has been spoiling me with some Greek homemade goodies since my return. In the spirit of all things delicious I thought I would write a post all about some traditional Greek eats you shouldn’t miss if you ever travel to Greece. 1. Gyros/Souvlaki- My all time favorite Greek food. I loved it so much I even wrote a whole blog post […]

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Easter Treats

I know what your probably thinking, Easter was weeks ago, why is she just now talking about Easter? Well, Greek Easter was just last weekend, and I happen to have a student in my class this year who is part Greek. When she found out I was traveling to Greece in April she was excited to share with me a few Greek words she knew and a little about how she celebrates Easter. It was wonderful to make a connection with a student in a global way. After returning from Greece, early last week, I shared some pictures and stories […]

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Greek Street Food Love

Forget the Parthenon, the Olympics, or other world changing inventions designed by the Greeks. The best thing to ever come out of Greece is the gyro! Now I’m sure I am late to the party, and everyone has already eaten a gyro before, but on the off chance you haven’t -run- don’t walk to your nearest Greek restaurant to gobble one up! By far my favorite food I had while in Greece, was some good old fashion Greek street food noms. Lucky for us we were staying not too far from a little local gem that served the most amazing gyros I […]

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