Hello Pandas,

Kamaria has made a decision. She wants us to face the dangerous person. This person is our only hope in our fight against the tree monster.

Aaaaaaaand, who found out about this person?

You, of course! Good job 
You’ll remember that we went to the Library and got some spell books the other day. Afterwards we went to see Kamaria in the Castle Tower and read to her. We looked through all the books for a suitable spell or potion to fight the tree monster, but couldn’t find anything. Kamaria felt really desperate, until…

…I discovered a mysterious header on one page: “The Omniscient One”. That should do the trick! If anybody knew how to defeat the tree monster, then it’d be him. Right? I immediately showed Kamaria the page.

She went very pale and gasped for air. When she had calmed down a bit, she whispered. “Pssst, don’t speak too loudly! The Omniscient One can hear us. He’s among us, here, in this room!”

“What? Where? He is here?” I asked and looked around the room.

Very inconspicuous, Max!
Then Kamaria explained that The Omniscient One is a blue ghost and lives in a mirror. This mirror ghost knows everything, but he’s also moody and unpredictable. If he’s in a bad mood and someone dares talk to him at that moment, he transforms them into a ghost or pulls them into his mirror.

That is why Kamaria only talks to the mirror ghost very rarely and only in emergencies! But we probably have no other choice in this matter…

If you want to save Panfu, you have to talk to the mirror ghost! Be careful and don’t annoy him! This is our last chance to save Panfu.

Good luck!

Ella and Max

Hi fluffy Pandas,

World Population Day is on 11 July. Right now, about 6.93 billion people live in this world. In the year 2050, it will be 9.2 billion. That’s a very quick development which does not only bring advantages. The more people live in this world, the more resources are being used. In order for all people to have enough water, wood, oil and food in the future, it is important that we use the resources that nature offers us sparingly. The magic word here is “sustainability”.

How does sustainability work?

Do you recycle your rubbish at home? Do you always turn off the tap when you brush your teeth when you don’t immediately need water? Great, then you are already acting in the spirit of sustainability!

Sustainability simply entails that in whatever you do, you also consider your environment and other people. Rubbish can be recycled, so that it can be processed further. So for example, out of a plastic bottle, a nice jumper can be made, or from your old exercise books, newspapers are made.

This is the official recycling symbol. The number indicates the material in question, for example 22=paper,
41=aluminium.

How else can I protect the environment?

It is the small things in your every day life that have a big impact on our environment.

Recycle Rubbish. Don’t just throw all your rubbish in one bin, but see if you can separate it into packaging, paper, organic waste or glass waste.

This is what a recycling container looks like in Lausanne/Switzerland. Copyright: Rama

Save Water. Turn off the tap or the shower if you are not immediately needing water.

Go by Bike. Walking, using the bike, skateboard or scooter isn’t just sporty, but also saves petrol.

Eat Sustainably. Do you buy organic food? Is it Fair Trade? Do you eat fresh produce or frozen?

Save Energy. Turn off the light when you leave a room, turn computer or games console off instead of leaving them on standby.

Of course it is difficult to always think of everything. If everybody helps, we can achieve a great deal. Do you live in the spirit of sustainability already or do you have more tips for sustainable living?

Love & Peace
Kamaria

Hello fluffy Pandas,

Happy Easter everyone! There are many different ways to celebrate Easter, and as we have so many international Pandas, it’s nice to learn about the different ways people spend these few days.

There are international symbols of Easter, such as the Easter Bunny and Easter eggs! These are very old traditions which date back to long before Easter was first celebrated by Christians. Easter is celebrated as the first day of spring, and this is why it occurs on different days each year, but always on a Sunday between the 22^nd March and the 25^th April.

In the weeks before Easter you can see flowers and Easter Trees on display throughout Germany, and as the tradition of boiling and painting eggs began here, it is not surprising that this is a big tradition too, eggs are decorated as a symbol of new life. Many people eat fish on Good Friday and in Northern Germany, there are Easter Fires called ”Osterfeuer” on the Saturday. There is then a special Easter Lunch on Easter Sunday with a lamb shaped cake and lots of coloured eggs! Egg hunts also take place for children where parents hide baskets filled with coloured eggs, chocolate bunnies and sometimes little presents.

Throughout the English-speaking world, Saturday is traditionally spent decorating Easter eggs with family and friends. By Sunday morning, the eggs have disappeared! They have been mysteriously hidden all over the house and the garden, sometimes with little riddles or clues as to where the eggs may be, children spend the morning hunting for eggs! Old traditions explain that the eggs were delivered by the Easter Bunny!

In the Netherlands, Belgium and France, church bells are silent for at least one day before Easter, sometimes longer as a sign of mourning. This has led to a tradition, where people explain that the bells have flown out of the steeple to go to Rome, and it is the bells that return on Easter morning with coloured and chocolate eggs or rabbits.

Other countries have different traditions with foods, in Spain; it is traditional for godfathers to present their godchildren with a cake called “La Mona” on Easter Sunday. The cakes can be found in all kinds of funny compositions with plenty of details. In Poland, butter shaped into a lamb, “Baranek wielkanocny”, is a traditional addition to the Easter feast for many Catholics. A white banner with a red cross on a toothpick is typically placed on its back.

In Finland, Sweden and Denmark, traditions include egg painting and children dressed as witches collecting candy door-to-door. At home, brightly coloured feathers and little decorations are also attached to birch branches in a vase. In Norway, in addition to painting eggs, a contemporary tradition is to read or watch murder mysteries. All the major television channels run crime and detective stories, magazines print them and new detective novels are scheduled for publishing before Easter. Even the milk cartons are altered for a couple of weeks. Each Easter a new short mystery story is printed on their sides.

As you can see, every country has its own way of celebrating this holiday! What about you? How do you celebrate Easter?

Love & Peace,
Kamaria

*All Easter images from commons.wikimedia.org

Howdy Pandas,

We have news about Duck: He is slowly waking up! Maybe we’ll figure out today who was right about where he comes from.

Um, you can forget about my idea with the black hole, by the way. That was a totally silly notion. Also, not a lot of Pandas voted for it.  Have you figured it out yet?

No, Duck has lost his memory. He remembers nothing but his name and even that we had to help him remember. Dr. Feelgood seems to believe that Kamaria might be able to see something in her crystal ball. You’ll remember that she foresaw the arrival of the Yeti and of Kr..Kr..Kr**** (I totally forgot that we did not want to mention his name anymore ).

Maybe she can also look into the past and solve the mystery around Duck’s origins.

Great idea! Why didn’t we come up with that ourselves? It’s certainly worth a try! Let’s go to Kamaria and we’ll see who was right.

We should go and see Duck once more before we do that, to make absolutely sure that he’s awake now.

Paws up for Panfu,

Max and Ella

Dear fluffy Pandas,

I’d like to show you some photographs I took yesterday for my “tea time album”. It’s an album I keep on my tea table, and I’d like to put pictures with all of you in it. Hopefully I’ll be seeing a lot of you soon. When you see me around Panfu, just come stop by for a cuppa!

Love and peace is always in the air in my house. All nice and kind Pandas are welcome! Spread the love!

As a little reminder, I’d appreciate (and I’m sure Max and Ella would too) if you didn’t stand in front of us and block our view. It’s nicer for everyone, if you step a bit aside, so my speach bubble shows, and everyone can see what I answer to their questions. Thanks for being considerate little Pandas.

Do you Pandas enjoy a cup of tea sometimes? What’s your favourite sort? I’ll be sure to get some of each of your favourite types for next time I see you.

Love and peace,
Your Kamaria