School Days

 This morning it finally happened! The girls had their first day of school here in Spain. Leah and Kiersten are attending Iale International School and Hattie is attending Entrenaranjos International School. Mitch and I made the hard decision to have the girls ride the school bus...I mean, a school they've never been to, in a foreign country, where they don't speak the language...what could go wrong?!?! But I still don't have a car (let's not talk about that), there is a ten minute drive between their schools and they have the same start time. Fortunately, Leah and Kiersten's bus stop is pretty close to our house. It's a quick 6-7 blocks and I'm comfortable (now after having done it) sending them alone. Hattie's bus stop is much further away. We will have to drive there every morning. Since we are currently in a temporary housing situation my hope is that once our things arrive from America we can find a location closer to the schools and the swim team...but I digress. 

They were all nerves getting ready in the morning. We had picked up a delicious loaf of lemon break from the local bakery as a special breakfast. So after they were all polished up and in their uniforms we sat down to breakfast together. Hattie wanted a braid so I did her hair, and then we headed out front to snap a few pictures. 

Hattie struggled saying goodbye. There were tears as she hugged me repeatedly, but I kept it together and kissed her goodbye a few times, gave lots of hugs and sent her on her way. Then Leah, Kiersten and I headed to Calle Ocho de Abril to find their bus stop. It was hectic, because just a block down from their stop is a local public school, so lots of traffic and parents getting their kids to school. The bus was a little late but it made it. It wasn't really marked but I noticed the Iale sticker on the back fortunately. These girls are riding in luxury...the school busses here don't look like any school bus I've ever seen. 

I went home, met the lansdscaper and then the pool guy. Communication is hard, but we're getting there. And then I waited for the girls to be done. At 4:30 Mitch headed to Hattie's bus stop. And shortly after that I headed to the one for Iale. Hattie arrived first so Mitch headed our way. The minute Hattie got out of the car I could see that she wasn't happy. I asked her how her day was and she responded "not good, three of my teachers talked in Spanish the whole time..." and then she went on to tell me that she is supposed to bring a water bottle and a snack every day and since we didn't send it she didn't get any water. At first they sent her to the wrong classroom, so they moved her and then they had to move her again. Not very many friends spoke English, and the playground for recess wasn't even a playground at all, there was no equipment...she lamented for a few minutes. But after we got home she calmed down. She started to talk about all the good  things that happened. She talked about the teachers that did speak English, she talked about a few of the kids who were nice. She met a nice girl from Russia who she says is her new friend...tomorrow we will learn the friends name!!! And she was happy with the lunch. Tomorrow will be better. We'll be prepared with snacks and a water bottle. 

Leah and Kiersten got off the bus pretty content. They did say it was pretty hard to sit and listen to the teachers that only spoke Spanish. Actually Kiersten said it was boring. They both met some kids. Kiersten could name a few...one of which lives just a few doors down from us, but doesn't speak English. She mentioned a girl from Siberia a few times and said she has several Asian kids in her class. Leah said there is an American boy in her class who doesn't know any Spanish, but of course she didn't talk to him. She did make friends with a girl named Julia from the Netherlands. She said her tutor (homeroom teacher) gave them a small writing assignment in Spanish to write about hobbies and family and she felt like she completed it fairly well. They both loved the lunch. They said the school food is so good. It's all prepared fresh in the kitchen and they even have a vegetarian option for Leah. So that was a win for the day. Every day will get a little easier. And I'm hoping and praying these girls can pick up the language quickly. It will come in handy for me, too!