Friday night, 7pm, was Isabella's first ballet class, and what a class it was. We could peep through the window, with its timber venetians, or view the class on a monitor in the foyer, which was handy with a busy toddler. For the first 20 minutes of a 40-minute lesson, Isabella was on her own with two instructors, in a room full of mirrors, dressed as a "real" ballerina, with a bun, albeit a floppy one!!
If you've a keen eye, you might spot the prima ballerina's mother taking this picture!!
Isabella has made the easiest adjustment of anyone, and starting school this week has certainly helped, too. She started Monday and was keen to get up and at'em, though at 4am, I pointed out that she probably could go back to bed for another 2 hours, as we didn't need to be there until around 8 am. Yes, school starts early here: doors open at 8am and the kids can study quietly In their classroom until the bell goes and they swear allegiance to the flag at 8.30am, before starting their class.
Isabella, poor thing, stood with her hand on her heart, as the teacher had shown her, not having a clue what it was all about! The tension in her little body was palpable; I wasn't sure who'd cry first, so we left!! (Happy to say she had a great first day, and the rest of this week has gone well, too.
However, I'm not overly thrilled with the lunch menu - Jamie Oliver, come on down!! We've had a discussion about making healthy choices and there are a few - but I suspect that the temptation to try the corn dog, chicken nuggets, and pizza may be too great for the first week or so.
Isabella's teacher, Ms Stewart, is lovely and has been very communicative, sending me photos via mms, as well as emails and notes in a daily agenda that she brings home each day. The first day, she texted me that Isabella was asking questions and laughing as if she'd been here all year (which started in August, 2013).
Oops, we blinked!
It's easy to know when school's back in here, because the cute little clunky yellow buses swarm like bumble bees around their respective hives from around 7am til school starts at 8.30am and then again from around 3pm until about 5pm at the end of the day. After seeing the stream of cars snaking away from the school from before 3.15pm I understand why the little school bus is such a popular feature in the American landscape ... Daniel, whose language is getting clearer by the day, gets as much of a thrill from seeing a "diggaaah" as he does from seeing "koo-buh" (singular) and "more koo-buh" (plural!!)
An ironically unsettling practice in this school, and I'm assuming it's not an orphan in this regard, is to require anyone collecting a child from school to produce a numbered card as identification to enter the school foyer area, which is separated from the rest of the school building by large one-way doors. This numbered card is also required for collection at the back of the building in the car pooling area. Clearly, not many students walk or ride bikes to this school, despite being local, and parents don't access the building other than the front office, or to volunteer, subject to the County Sheriff's approval after a background check. We were accompanied to Isabella's room on Monday, but I got the feeling that this was very much a once off occasion.
Daniel, for his part, is also now enrolled in "school", thank #%^*+ ! (I'm trying not to blaspheme down here.) He really, really needs to have an outlet for his endless energy, as well as some fresh objects to bang his head against - see below for Friday night's excitement. On the bright side, we now know where to take the children in the case of a medical emergency!! By the way, the glue won over the stitches!! (The doctor promised he coud do the stitches as quickly as the glue, but sorry, we didn't really think speed was the main factor here!)
Daniel, for his part is also now attending daycare for a few days a week, and seems to be enjoying being busy and social again. His teachers are Miss Jasmine and Miss Lajean(!!), who use a lot of "yes, ma'am!" and "no, sir!" with their 2 year old charges.
As you may have guessed, everyone down here is addressed by a title and their first name/last name which is still weird for me, even though I have a couple of friends who I do this with at home, it's always been an affectionate affectation on both our parts - here, it's almost mandatory. I'm still trying to work out the whys and wherefores of this one, in terms of who uses what with whom, so I'll report back when I've worked it out.
This has been a week of new beginnings: Dave's first full week on the job, Isabella and Daniel's first week of school, and my first week of space to think, breathe, and get out and about to explore, unhindered!! So far, the only exploring I've done has been of the retail kind, but that's a start!!
I bought my first michelin man jacket this week, as the temperatures here have been below freezing - a plastic bottle of water I'd left in the car froze solid yesterday, and I had icicles hanging behind the front wheels of the car, too!
Here's a little floral arrangement Isabella put out on the balcony on Monday night...frozen!!
We think it's cold, but then so do the locals, as this is quite unusual for down here. Anyway, I'm actually enjoying it while it lasts, as I know the summers are going to be hot and extremely humid, which doesn't agree with me at all!!
Cold but sunny!!
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