Bugs, Bugs, EVERYWHERE!!!!!!

Dear Mrs. Ross and Class:
Blog #7

Hello Everyone. Maddy here again from France on my last blog of 2009. I know especially the boys will like this one. It is about the biggest display of bugs I have ever seen.

OK. Let's start at the beginning.

Yesterday we went to a village perche` (hilltop village) called Tourette-Levens.  This village is over 2000 years old.  It had a huge chateau (castle) and inside was the biggest collection of dead bugs I have ever seen.  Over 6000 of them.  There were butterflies, ants, beetles, spiders, and all sorts of the ugliest bugs I have ever seen.  And now, I am going to give you a few fun facts that I learned:

Did you know:

1]  That there are millions of animals in the world but insects make up over 75% of them

2]  The average moustique (mosquito) has 47 teeth but it is their nose that gets your blood.

3]  An ant can lift 50 times its own weight.  But a honey bee can lift 300 times its weight.  If we humans could lift 300 times our weight, we could lift over 15 tons!

4]  There are 300,000 types of beetles which is the most of any insect in the world.

5]  The eggs of a walking stick insect are the largest insect eggs in the world and are almost 1/2 inch long.

I wish you all could have seen all these bugs.  Especially the creepy spiders.  I never knew there were so many of these creatures all over the world.

I miss you all so much and I'll see you in a few DAYS!!

-Maddy

P.S.  Remember I told you about the special ways dogs are treated here?  Take a look at the following pictures.  Can you tell which dog looks like his owner?

B-Borie

Dear Mrs. Ross and Class:
Blog #6

Hello Everyone.  Maddy here again from France.

Most of you know I have a second home in France.  It is in a petite (little) historic village called Gordes in Provence France.  In this village there are very interesting little stone homes called Bories. 

What are they?
Where are they?
Who lived in them?
Why are they made from rocks?
How old are they?

Great questions but some of the answers are hard to find.  However, I will respond to most of those questions in the following paragraphs.  So, here we go!!!

What are Bories?  Bories are little stone homes that look like Igloos.  But, they are made of flat roches (rocks) instead of ice blocks. 

Where are they?  The Bories are mostly located about two miles from our house in a very old part of France where cavemen lived.  We even have one (with a well) in our back yard.  In fact, there is an entire group of them called The Village Des Bories.

Who lived in them?  This is a more difficult question.  Archeologist's think they might have been temporary shelters for shepards.

Why are they made from rocks?  Rocks are very protective and they kept them safe.  Much better than wood so they were very strong and still here today.

How old are they?  The Bories are very old.  They date back to the Neolithic Age which was over 4000 years ago.

I hope my answers inspired all of you.
Talk to you all next week for my last Blog.
-Maddy
P.S.  I miss you so much.  I am on the countdown: 10,9,8,7,6,5,4,3,2,1

P.S.S.Thanks so much Mrs. Santello for the great comment on my last Blog.
I also brought you a stone from the Borie village so you can add that one to your collection too.

P.S.S.S.
A super thank-you to my sister Arial for the great comments last week and the encouragement.  I love you so much.

-M

Nazi Occupation Reminders Everywhere

Dear Mrs. Ross and Class:
Blog #5

Hello again.  Maddy here from France.  This week we all took a promenade (walk) on a brand new trail along the sea that the French government just opened up this summer.  It was really cool.  It was a reminder of the Nazi occupation of our town during WWII.

Who were the Nazis?  Nazi's were the German soldiers who invaded northern France in 1940.  That was only 69 years ago.  Then in November 1942 they actually came to our ville (city) of Villefranche and occupied our port and our homes.  Lots of people died in the battles.  There are memories everywhere in our village.

The Nazi occupation set up bunkers called "pill boxes" along the opening of the port to guard our harbor from the Allies.  Today we went to those bunkers on the new trail.  I don't know how the Nazi's got here but probably from U-Boats on the water as there are rocks scattered everywhere.

As an American, it is really hard to imagine your country bombed, invaded, and trapped like mice.  But reminders like these make me remember how brave the soldiers and people of our village must have been.

I hope you like the pictures.
More to come next week.

-Maddy

P.S.
Thank-you Mrs. Santello, Mrs. Herrera and Mrs. Ross for your comments.  I think of you all when I write my blog.
P.S.S.  Mrs. Santello, I even picked up a rock from the bunker for your collection.

Answers to Class Questions:
Thank-you Mrs. Ross and Class for your comments.
P.S.  Anyone who comments I will try to write answers in my next Blog!!

1]  Yes it is crazy that there are no dogs allowed in cemeteries especially when they are treated like people here in France.  Just wait for 2 weeks and in my last BLOG will be all the strange things dogs do around here.  Complete with pictures!!

2]  Yes, I did see bones in one part of the cemetery.  It was really scarey.  It was a dirt part and I ran like crazy because I was sure someone or something was watching me.

3]  The newlywed couple is doing great.  Sugar the Rabbit just got his driving liscense.  I had to make a special car just for him with a steering wheel, brakes, and a comfortable seat.  It was really neat.

4]  It really did not freak me out visiting the cemeteries until I saw those bones.  Now I REALLY believe there are ghosts there.

I can't wait to see all of you and that is great news about the laptops! Thank-you so much for reading my Blog.  It makes me feel so much a part of our class.

-A Bientot Maddy