Here There and Everywhere

Flat Stanley: Oh The Places You’ll Go!

This title refers to two classic American books that most kids are familiar with. The first book,
Flat Stanley (at Amazon.com) is about a boy who is flat and figures out that he can go places by envelope. The second book is a book by Dr. Seuss, Oh! The Places You’ll Go by Dr. Seuss (at Amazon.com) one of those books parents read to their children and at some point the children say “Look! I can read!” and they will appear to be reading the book because they have heard it so many times.

Some really smart and creative elementary teacher figured out how to turn Flat Stanley into a lesson combining writing and geography, and now kids are making flat versions of themselves and mailing themselves to far-away places. My friend, Grammy, has received requests to help with these projects at least twice – and oh, the fun we have with these flat kids.

You take pictures. You explain what Stanley is doing. You make a slide show and send it to the kid to share with his class. What a wonderful way to make another country come to life! These kids will know where Doha, Qatar is! They will know some of the sights in Doha. Can you imagine? I wish geography had been so much fun when I was a kid!

It also reminds me to tell you, our friends in the states, that living in places like Doha is NOT SCARY. Look at the faces of all the people who helped us with Flat Stanley. Every single person we encountered was delighted to help us. No one ever said no, and some even volunteered extra ideas. In the souks today were some school children groups, and they helped too, although I am not posting photos because I don’t have their parent’s permissions, but it was one of the sweetest moments of the day, with these adorable children holding Flat Stanley.

Stanley visits the maker of lutes:

Stanley rides a camel:

Stanley takes a ride on a dhow:

Stanley visits the falcon souk, only sadly, falcon season is over, so there are no live falcons 😦

Stanley takes a rest in an incense burner:

Stanley visits the scribes:

Stanley hitches a ride with a souk cop on his Segway:

Stanley tries out a model tent at the tentmaker’s souk:

Stanley visits our friend, the Yemeni honey man, who also sells some of the worlds most wonderful baskets from the Asir in Yemen:

The weather is perfect. Take a trip to the souks. Get outside your normal boundaries and explore a little. Doha is a sweet family city, with lots to do, lots of family activities, great places for walking (the Corniche, Aspire Park, the beaches). Do it now, before the weather gets intense!

March 12, 2010 - Posted by intlxpatr | Adventure, Community, Cross Cultural, Doha, Education, Entertainment, ExPat Life, Family Issues, Interconnected, Living Conditions, Local Lore, Photos, Qatar, Travel