Students get a taste of Ethiopia Do you know what’s wat?

(Feb 3, 2011, Royal gazette)--You ask, “What is wat and injera?” If you really want to know, come to Clearwater Middle School and ask Miss De Silva, Garyn Simons or Delun Fishenden. If you don’t have time to visit us, you might want to research it at your school or your child’s school, or learn by Googling it. This article will launch you into a few answers.

It all started out with reading a book called ‘Fire on the Mountain’ by Jane Kurtz. The book is about a young boy, Alemayu, who takes care of his sheep in Ethiopia. One day the boy went to the big city where he met his sister and they worked together.

Alemayu soon realised that his employer was a pretty boastful man and they made a bet that if Alemayu survived a night in the mountains with just a thin cloak, or shemma, to keep him warm he would get some cows and a bag of money. If the man won, he and his sister would have to leave. If you want to find out what happens next, you will have to read the book; we don’t want to spoil it for you.

We learned much about Ethiopian culture. We learned that a mesob is a colourful, woven table with a lid where Ethiopians sit and have their food. We also learned about an Ethiopian musical instrument called a krar which looks a little like a guitar. Read more the full story at Royal gazette »

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