RatSoap

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Condorito

RJE's been spending a lot of time being an artist. Here is her drawing of a whale:

Here's an experiment with glue and sand that she used to draw the face of a mouse:

She also made these cardboard hands that are used to hold things in between them. You can glue a magnet on the back of each hand if you want to use them on the refrigerator:

And she turned an old t-shirt of Dad's into a "nightgown" by drawing on it with a marker:

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Since camp and soccer are on break now, we have a lot more free time. We spend some of it on reviewing SOL's (Standards of Learning). This is so we catch up with what they've been teaching at school in Virginia.

I am reviewing 5th and 6th, RJE 1st and 2nd grade, and I took two practice tests for 5th grade Science that we found online, and was surprised at how easy they were!

Almost all the questions had to do with things I learned in fourth grade.

RJE did English, which was a bit harder for her, but she did very well writing sentences. She can spell better in Spanish than in English.

Along with that, we are reading a lot of Spanish (out loud). One book is called "Papelucho," a Chilean classic that is part of a series.

It's about a boy around eight years old who is always trying to help but gets into trouble instead. For example, when Papelucho decides to be nice to poor people by giving one of his dad's best ties away to a homeless person, his dad is furious.

Papelucho reminds me of the "Ramona" series, written by Beverly Cleary---another of my old favorites. Ramona is just an innocent little girl trying to get attention.

The Papelucho books have a lot of Chilean slang in them, so they aren't easy to read if you don't know Chilean Spanish. We bought several of the books, including one called "Papelucho and the Martian," which was made into a cartoon movie last year (we haven't seen it yet). But all these books were written a long time ago. The woman who wrote them died in 1985.

There are many other popular cartoon characters in Chile, like "Condorito" and "Mampato." They are both from magazines, and Dad used to read them as a kid. He still has a collection of Mampatos in Virginia that I used to try to read (since I didn't speak Spanish then).

Mampato is a red-haired boy who has a belt that allows him to travel through time. He visits many important places and times in human history. He also travels to the future. One of his most popular stories is when he goes to Easter Island before the Europeans arrived. That story was made into a cartoon movie a few years ago. Here is a preview:

Condorito is a condor bird---the national bird of Chile.

He is the type of guy who enjoys life and is always making a joke out of everything.

The magazine Condorito has been published since 1955, so the character is very well known. He always wears flip-flops, so in Chile, they call flip-flops "condoritos."

All these cartoon characters are from the past. The man who created Condorito died in 2000 (he was in his eighties!), and the man who created Mampato died 1973.

New Chilean cartoon characters have not been created by new artists. Everything that's new entertainment for young people in Chile now comes from the United States, like The Fairly Odd Parents, Go Diego Go, computer games, Hannah Montana, Zack and Cody, Cheetah Girls, High School Musical, and a whole bunch of other Disney Channel shows.

You can learn more about Condorito here and here. And to see a sample of one of his comics, in English, click here. AND...if you want to see a copy of the REAL Condorito, you can download a copy of a famous issue (Number 100, from 1983) from here, but you will need a broadband connection because the file is HUGE!

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Cartoon Contest #1 Vote

Select the one you like the most and click on "Click to Vote." We will show the one that gets the most votes on the next RatSoap post, with the name or nickname of the person who wrote it.

1. "Well, you're always complaining that I never surprise you for Valentine's Day."

2. "Fly-fishing's not what it used to be."

3. "This boot is a token of my love for you. Will you marry me?"

4. "Here's the other shoe you've been waiting to drop."

5. "Hey, it's the thought that counts."

6. "Here. Sorry I forgot our anniversary."

7. "Hi Honey! Did u c what blah-blah did in the...WHAT is that SMELL?" . . ."Oh, never mind it's just gross boots."

8. "Will you marry me?"

9. "Please walk the dog in the neighbors' yard."

10. "I think I'd rather stick to tradition and get an engagement ring."

11. "Would you like fries with that?"

12. "Want to go have a drink?"

NOTE: Voting is closed now. Go to the next posting for results.

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