Germany and Venice!

Hi First Grade!

Last week Chocolate and I traveled to Germany to visit my friends. We took a train , a bus, and a plane to get there. After a little mix up, we made it to Germany! My friends met us at the airport and drove us to their home.

We had so much fun with them. We spent two afternoons in Stade and had a blast! In Stade we went to many book stores. In one we found Magic Tree House Books and in another we found the books like Mr. Grumpy. Chocolate and I can't remember the exact name.

One evening we watched Disciple Me in German. Chocolate loved it. Plus he made a few new German friends, while we watched the movie together on the couch.

We even had a very special treat! They just had a friend from the States come to visit and she brought Hershey chocolate! OH! I was so excited!

Chocolate even tried a very traditional German breakfast and lunch! For breakfast, they have fresh rolls that they buy THAT very morning! Then there are so many things you can have with them- meat, cheese, spreads, jams, and Nutella! It is up to you to decide.



For lunch, Oma (which means grandma in German) made us red cabbage, potato balls, and goulash. Goulash is a type of meat served in a very yummy stew or gravy. I almost forgot! We tried shark! Germans sometimes eat it for breakfast on black bread. It was actually very good -and Ms. Deppen is a picky eater. (The long skinny piece in-front is the shark!)

On our last day in Germany, Kara, chocolate and I went to school with Hannah and Paula. Hannah is in first grade and Paula is in 4th grade. German school is very different than America. The girls only had a half of day and had three breaks! Wow! The coolest thing is their cubbies are outside of the classroom and there they take off their shoes. Many students then put on slippers or crocs for the day.

This is Hannah's homework. She has to read, too! Plus the syllables are in different colors. 

Plus practice writing! She uses a two sided pencil to do her homework!

Chocolate and I were both sad to leave our German friends. They are like family!

 After Germany, we traveled to Venice. We spent the day there! It is very beautiful city with all the water. Venice is a city that is below sea level. So there are very few cars and a lot of boats!








Chocolate and I got lost a few times because all of the streets are very dark and narrow. We ate at a fast food place like McDonalds but they serve pizza and fries!

 

Talk to you soon! Miss you First Grade! 

Love, Ms. Deppen

Siena and Assisi

Hi First Grade!

Sorry it's been a week or two since Chocolate and I last wrote. Chocolate is one busy little traveler. We have gone to two new cities! The first city we went to was Siena. Siena is a cute little town built on three hills. The town is known for their horse races in July and August. The race takes place here in the center. It looks much different when it is time to race. 

They put fences up to mark the track and put sand down for the horses! Thousands of people come to see the races; however, the race is VERY important for the people who live in Siena. Each horse is connected to a neighborhood and each neighborhood wants to win. Each neighborhood has a mascot -as you can see here this neighborhood is the Panther. 

The neighborhoods want to win these banners. These banners are hand painted every year. Once they win, they hang the banner in their museum. So each neighborhood has a fountain, museum, a horse stable, and a few other things. 

Siena is a fun city with fresh fruit -right along the street! It was like right out of a movie!

And of course we saw a church! 

Then, Chocolate and I traveled to Assisi. We saw more churches. Assisi is known for St. Clare and St. Francis. These are two people Chocolate and I are learning about in class. So we saw where they lived.  It was very simple on the inside. They slept on hard floors with no fire or light! Can you imagine a cold winter day? 

On our way there, we saw some sheep! It was so cool. In America, we often have fences for our animals -not the case here! They just roamed about! 

We had a good day and saw some incredible views! We even had two ice creams!!!!!

We had fun in Assisi, but our favorite was Siena. It was great for shopping, eating, and it was so safe! Siena is one of the safest cities in Italy! 

Love, Ms. Deppen and Chocolate

PS: Keep your eyes on the mail! :) 

Pizza Workshop

Hi Class!
On Tuesday, 15 students headed to Pizza E Musica to make our own Italian pizzas. First, we got a little history lesson of where pizza originates. For those of you that think, pizza comes for Italy. I'm sorry. 

The Dough

Toppings

Although I can't remember exactly what Julie told us, something about Egyptians and the Greeks... well, my mind was focused on what toppings I would put on my pizza. All I know is I believe the Italians have perfected it! 

Next we got our hands on lesson. This was my teacher. 

He is not originally from Italy but has been here for 11 years.  So he did his thing; telling us each step to know to make the perfect pizza. 

And then we did ours.... Chocolate helped out in the kitchen! 

The first step is to make the crust. 

Then you must place your hands in the center and make a circular motion. It's make harder than it sounds. 

Chocolate called over the professional. My pizza wasn't going as planned. 

Next it was time for sauce, cheese, and any extra toppings! 

Before your pizza goes in the oven, you must pick up your pizza with this large flat pan without tearing the bottom off! 

Then it's off to the oven. A good pizzaolio can cook 6-8 pizzas in an oven without burning them!  

It only takes minutes because the oven heats from top to bottom and usually is about 700F. 

So you take it out. 

Plate it. 

And enjoy! Chocolate and I thought the olives wer too sour! Next time we will try something new! 

After enjoying every last bite of my hard work, I had my first piece of tiramisu in Italy!

Can't wait to see you! 

Love, Ms. Deppen

Super Bowl Watcher

Hi Class! 

I wanted to give you an update on our Super Bowl Fanatic, Chocolate! Chocolate and I found the only place in Perugia to watch the Super Bowl. Chocolate made new friends and enjoyed some "salsa" and chips. The salsa here is either hot being hot sauce or mild being BBQ sauce. We were both disappointed!

Here is Chocolate in front of the big screen! He was so excited the Ravens won! For me, I didn't care who won the game but I loved seeing Beyonce and Destiny's Child! They were a band I listened to growing up! 

Otherwise, Chocolate has been staying busy. We often cook together. This week we made lasagna! It was delicious! Our masterpiece... 

We even treated ourselves to dinner with my friend and roommate, Susanne! We've been having a great time. Chocolate wanted me to tell Lauryn "hi" and that she was safe! 

Talk to you soon my first grade friends! Miss you all the way from Italy! Keep up the good work!

Love, Ms. Deppen & Chocolate