Home Remedies from Around the World Part 2

Here are a few more tips I learned from my students over the past couple of months while discussing health care.

Home Stomachache Remedies

 

Stomachaches plague both the young and old.  Perhaps we eat the wrong food or catch a nasty bug.  Maybe we are just stressed out.  Regardless, dealing with a stomachache can be quite the challenge.  My students had great suggestions on the best home practices.

 

Ethiopia ~ When I have a stomachache, I use lemon, sugar, and water, mix it together and I drink it.  I eat a little ginger.

Guatemala ~ When I have a stomachache, I drink lemon juice and tea for the pain.

Eritrea ~ When I have a stomachache, I drink lemon water and I change my food.  I make rice to eat.

Sudan ~ When I have a stomachache, I take a little walk.  I take a nap.  I drink tea from a tree root.

Ukraine ~ If we have a stomachache, we lie down and then do massage.

So I really did have to look up why lemon (a definitively acidic fruit) would help an upset stomach, and apparently a little lemon juice can go a long way in helping the stomach clear out any leftover irritants.  It gives the stomach the extra acidity to heal itself.

Home Headache Remedies

 

Headaches, too, are ever present and affect us all.  A debilitating headache could potentially affect a person for several days.  There are often so many triggers too, from dehydration and hunger to lack of sleep or a sinus infection.  Here are the best ideas my students gave me.

 

Ukraine ~ When I have a headache, I try to relax and put a cloth with mint oil on my forehead.

El Salvador ~  When you have a headache, put a cloth on your forehead.  Drink chamomile tea.  Use lavender oil.  Drink ginger tea.

Sudan ~ When I have a headache, I take a shower with cool water and sleep.  I also eat onion, tomato, and red peppers.

 

Although my research could give me some insight into the herbal remedies my students suggested, I was not able to find as much information on the vegetable-based remedies as I had hoped.

Peppermint oil in fact helps stop migraines.  Ginger has been used for headache treatments for over 2000 years.  Chamomile relaxes the body and relieves stress, and there may also be benefits to lavender oil.

When it came to the vegetables, this is what I learned.  Veggies high in water content such as cucumbers and tomatoes can help with hydration and relieve headaches.

Hot peppers, on the other hand, can help with congestion as we sweat, cough, and cry while eating them (haha!).  Since some headaches can be caused by sinus congestion, this could be a useful remedy.

There was, however, no mention of onions.  I suppose they could also have high water content and if hot enough could help clear out congestion.

Overall I have found the suggestions of my students very intriguing and definitely worth trying. So bring on the spicy salads and lemon ginger tea!

Written by Heather Glidewell, ESL Instructor

Celebrating Student Achievements!

Halloween-like Traditions Around the World

Pumpkins on display (Photo from Wikipedia)

It’s that time of year.  The air is crisp, leaves are falling and the days are getting longer.  Soon kids (and all the kids-at-heart) will dress up and the air will be filled with shouts of “trick-or-treat!”  Still others will stay indoors watching scary movies, pretending not to be scared of the dark.  Yep, it’s Halloween.  But do many of you know how Halloween began?  While there are many influences on the modern celebration of Halloween, most agree that the basis for the holiday is a blend of Celtic and Christian traditions.  The practice of jack-o-lanterns comes from the Celts, as they would carve turnips into lanterns to help guide departed spirits.  Trick-or-treating began as Christian children would go door to door collecting bread in exchange for prayers for loved ones.  After looking into the history of Halloween, I wondered if other cultures had similar celebrations, so I asked my co-workers to tell me about some of their homeland traditions.

Hailing from Croatia, Lilly Jasarovic told me that recently more Croatians are celebrating the modern Halloween with costumes and trick or treating.  But she also told me of the festival Maškare which is celebrated right before Lent.  During this festival, people dress up in costumes and celebrate with big masquerade parties, parades and bonfires.

Bowl of Fritule, photo from wikipedia

Children are often given small doughnut-like pastries called fritule, as gifts by adults.

In Ethiopia, they celebrate the festival of Buhé (pronounced boo-hay).  Ahmed Abogn let me know that Buhe, sometimes refered to as Ethiopia’s Halloween, is celebrated in August near the end of the rainy season.  On the night of Buhe, young boys will go door to door singing and dancing, asking for small gifts, like bread or (nowadays) money.  Families will also light bonfires and gather around to celebrate.

Kaylan Dahal, a Bhutanese-Nepali caseworker, spoke about the traditions of Diwali.  The festival is a Hindu festival, also known as the Festival of Lights.  During this time families decorate their homes with flowers and it is a time to share food and blessings with each other.  During the festival, groups will go door to door singing songs or blessings and are rewarded with small gifts.  Kaylan tells me that in the refugee camp, you could visit nearly 100 homes because they were so close together.

A Nepalese temple lit up for Diwali. (Photo by Dhilung Kirat)

Caseworker Law Reh spoke of the Karenni Deeku festival.  Named for the leaf-wrapped sticky rice that is cooked during this time, the festival is held with large group dances around sacred poles.  Sometimes people will wear masks during the celebrations.  They will also go door to door sharing gifts with one another.  Families will also make sculptures (Law described them similar to scarecrows) that will be placed in front of homes to protect from evil spirits.  This festival can take a week to celebrate and is a time to look forward into the next year as fortunes can also be told during this time.

Learning about all the different ways and reasons my coworkers celebrate was really great!  I got to hear about their homes and traditions as well as share some tidbits about Halloween too.  If this kind of history interested you, I hope you can take some time to learn more about the different traditions in the world because, as this blog showed me, despite the many differences, we are more similar than we sometimes think.

 

Kristyne Walth, Volunteer Coordinator, LSS Center for New Americans

I believe…

I believe that LSS Center for New Americans is an integral part of the Sioux Falls community, strengthening families, providing much needed services, reaching above and beyond to help people. I believe hard work and determination goes a long way in changing lives, the community, and the world. I believe LSS gives people a chance when they had none. There is a certain satisfaction knowing that you have helped make your community a better place to be, have helped people live and thrive when they didn’t have that chance before.
I believe that people come here to be free, to live and love, to build a new life, a better life, and LSS helps them assimilate, helps them overcome language and cultural barriers, prepares them to find gainful employment and housing. LSS helps reunite families and keep families together.
I believe that we are privileged to provide many people with the chance to learn new things. For example, on Monday nights, we offer a technology class at the Center for New Americans. It is so exciting to help students succeed when they have never used a computer before. It is also exhilarating to teach a student who cannot read and write their own language how to read and write in English. These are the precious, empowering moments for our students that help them succeed in our community.
Some time ago, I had a student that told me, “I was afraid when I came to America, but maybe American culture is not bad, it is just different.” This comment has impacted my own thoughts and beliefs. My students’ cultures are not bad. They are just different. There is beauty to be found in each and every one of them.
I believe LSS Center for New Americans changes lives. Not only the lives of the refugees and immigrants they help, but the lives of all the employees and volunteers that work for the changes. Working at the Center for New Americans is challenging work but very rewarding. I believe that the final goals are definitely worth the effort!

Written by Heather Glidewell, LSS ESL Instructor

 

 

A Success Story

Nadifa

I first met Nadifa six years ago – a bright-eyed, inquisitive young girl. And today, with this blog, I am proud to introduce to you a still bright-eyed, inquisitive young lady: Nadifa, US citizen.

Born in the North African nation of Chad, Nadifa spent most of her life in Cameroon before coming to Sioux Falls with her parents, three brothers, three sisters and her grandmother. Nadifa was full of questions, she wanted to know everything, she wanted to learn everything she didn’t have the opportunity to learn back in Africa. Soon, her school enrolled her and her brother in a tutoring program to help with English and other subjects taught in American schools. I became their tutor. Nadifa’s brain was like a sponge, asking for more and more and more.

From the moment she set foot on American soil Nadifa was happy. Why? I asked her. Because, she said, everything is readily available here, we don’t have to walk for a long, long time just to pick up the bare necessities. And my whole family, we can all be together. And after 6 1/2 years in Sioux Falls, Nadifa is still happy. She values the educational opportunities available to her, as a woman, here in Sioux Falls. She graduated from high school and is continuing her education. She is studying sociology at USD, hoping to graduate with a bachelor’s degree in 2020 and at the same time is working full-time as a food ambassador at Avera. She is proud of her independence – she has her own apartment, her own car and her own money – yet stays close to her family. Family, she says, is so very important, they are the best support system, they will always stick together.

After graduation, Nadifa hopes to find a job where she can help people – refugees, immigrants, actually anybody and everybody. She likes to keep busy. So, besides school and work, she volunteers at CNA as a classroom tutor, helping immigrants learn English, the first step to becoming a citizen. Was it important for her to become a citizen? Yes, definitely. I like living in the US, she says, and I feel much safer being a citizen. Going to high school here and learning about history and government helped her with preparing for the naturalization test.

And how is life different for young ladies here in the United States? She thinks that some of them take advantage of the freedom they have here. They are easily influenced by their peers and the local environment and they lose sight of their dreams and goals. She says she was raised to cover up – to cover her head and to cover her body with appropriate clothing. And she still dresses that way. In high school, she says, she was often teased by her peers, “Why don’t you upgrade to America?” But Nadifa didn’t feel the need to do that. She says, it’s important to feel comfortable with yourself, to always be yourself and do the right thing for yourself. And to never forget the value of family.

Always encourage – never criticize

Work hard and never stop dreaming

 

Written by Silke Hansen, ESL Instructor

Citizenship With a View

 

 

 

 

For more than ten years U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services and the National Park Service have partnered to welcome New Americans. Every year dozens of naturalization ceremonies take place in the midst of the scenic landscapes and majestic views of the country’s national parks. And South Dakota is no exception. The ceremonies at the Mount Rushmore National Monument have grown in size, from 60 new citizens in 2007 to 180 in 2017. However, depending on where in the state you live, getting to the ceremony isn’t always that easy. Often money and transportation are major issues. But this year citizenship candidates from Sioux Falls had a smooth ride. Lutheran Social Services’ Center for New Americans was able to charter a bus, made possible through a generous donation from the Daughters of the American Revolution, Mary Chilton Chapter, Sioux Falls. So, on June 15, at 3:15 AM a bus full of tired but excited citizenship candidates with family, friends and CNA staff, including myself, set out across the state to Mount Rushmore. It seemed like a quick ride. The weather was fully cooperating – sunny skies, just a little breeze. The area was bustling with activity. It felt like a mini United Nations. People from over 40 different countries were coming together in this breathtaking scenery under the ‘faces’ in the Black Hills of South Dakota. The sat down on the stone benches of the Amphi Theatre as Green Card holders – and they stood up as new citizens of the United States. They walked across the stage and told us their name, what country they came from and how incredibly proud they were to now be citizens of the United States. And we got on the bus again to start the journey home, again a bus full of tired but excited people. Only now we have a group of New American citizens in our midst.

 

Written by Silke Hansen, ESL Instructor

 

Take the “I Was a Stranger” Challenge!

Moses the immigrant. Photo courtesy of migrationmuseum.

 

“When we study scriptures, we find that immigration is not a political issue primarily; it’s a biblical issue that has political implications.”

–Noel Castellanos, CEO, Christian Community Development Association

 

For the next 40 days, you’re invited to take the “I Was a Stranger” Challenge designed by the Evangelical Immigration Table.

Here’s what it is:

“In a time when immigration has become a polarizing political issue, most Protestant Christians (91%, according to a 2010 Pew Research Center poll) admit that they do not primarily think about immigrants or immigration primarily through the lens of their Christian faith.

“In order to encourage those—both in local churches and in the halls of Congress—who profess to follow Jesus to allow their response to immigration to be infused with biblical values, we invite you to participate in a new initiative called “I Was a Stranger…,” which takes its name directly from Matthew 25:35, where Jesus says that by welcoming a stranger, we may be welcoming him. The focus of the challenge will be on inviting believers to read a short passage of Scripture each day for forty consecutive days that speaks to God’s heart for immigrants and to pray for the immigrants in their community.