We showed up at our neighborhood school Wednesday morning (second day of school) for a tour of the building to have the receptionist inform us that we had been offered admission. They asked us when we wanted to start, and we told them we'd be ready the next day. Having NO idea what I was committing us to.
We had our tour, lead by three students from year 6 (or level 6, they count kindergarten), two of which are in Miranda's class, and walked Bruce toward his office, stopping for lunch at the place Bruce and I had our first Cambridge meal back in March, (we finally figured out where it is) Brown's (above picture is taken in front of the building, picture below is of the quiet garden area for those who prefer to read during playtime or recess).
It's worked out well, I think, that the girls got to see the school and the kids in class before having to show up to a strange place cold. After spending the remainder of the day frantically searching the town for school uniforms in the right color (navy), and facing Olivia's tears at every stop because they didn't have it in her size (and her endless questions about what we were going to do about it), I was thrilled to see them exiting their classrooms this afternoon with smiles on their faces and feeling like they had started to make friends.
Upon arrival this morning, Sophia was greeted by a very social girl asking her if she was the new girl, who then proceeded to tell everyone else as they arrived that she was the new girl. The social girl's companion was a little more gentle and was very excited when she noticed Sophia's earrings. She apparently recently had her ears pierced at the same place with the same birthstones. She wore them until the went septic and she has to take them out. (Miranda escorted herself into her classroom, and Bruce escorted Olivia.) After school, Miranda was invited by two friends to play at their houses tomorrow and one day next week, and Olivia was busy keeping track of how many friends each of them has made so far (she made one, but she can't remember her name, it starts with a B).
I spent the day running back home and gathering "swimming kits" as at least two of the kids were scheduled to swim in the thankfully warm outdoor pool for PE, then making my way out to the largest suburban superstore for the final items the kids were so desperate for. Somehow I managed to confuse sizes of some of the items and, unbelievably, will have to go back to make some exchanges.
My goal is to be well prepared for Bruce's week-long absence starting Sunday. (Poor Bruce has to go to Paris and London to do some research and attend a conference. I guess it's research and conferences what got us here.) At least I'm not having to choose among lesser appealing schools in his absence, which I was preparing for. The fact that Bruce usually makes breakfast and does the dishes in the morning doesn't make it any easier. The fact that the reasonably priced on-line grocery delivery service only accepts credit cards from local (this hemisphere anyway) credit cards is probably by far my biggest disappointment in this trip to date. I think it's time to buy a bike, though I'm not sure four bags of groceries will fit in that little basket in the front.
(Here is a picture of the girls in uniform in front of our house. We spent much of our time yesterday investing in shoes. The girls wear sizes 12, 2, and 5 H, pronounced "haitch" here. And when you ask them what they said, they say it more slowly and with more breath.) Deb and friend Sarah will arrive from the States Thursday while Bruce is gone, and depart Friday before he returns that same day with his friend Bill. I will try my best to have the house clean and food in the fridge, but no promises. I think I successfully changed the timezone for the blog, I'm making the post now at about 11:30 pm our time. Let's see what it says.
4 comments:
HOORAY! The girls look very nice for their first day. It's neat that it sounds like the local kids immediately embraced them. Now I suppose time will fly.
Sarah and I have decided to rent a car at Heathrow. Crazy, I know, but if we're setting out to drive to Edinburgh the next day, well somehow it makes sense. At any rate, we have consensus on it (hopefully I didn't strongarm), so we're going for it.
For weeks if not months now three weeks' visit has sounded long, but now it sounds so SHORT! Maybe it has something to do with already knowing what will be in store for me at work when I return.
I'm off to Costco to see if they have a new camera for me. Still not sure how that's going to play out. They have a good deal online, but I want it NOW, so I'll check it out in person. Heck, maybe I should wait 'til I'm in California this weekend... Anyway, then it's onto Lara and Kimmo's to see them and Kari (Kimmo's brother) and meet Eeva who'd already gone to bed when I went over on Monday.
I've got a nice shiner again. The one I had last week was barely visible, I don't think one single person asked what happened or how I got it, or even noticed it at all. It was all above my eye and restricted to the eyelid so it easily escaped notice when my eyes were open. THAT one I got in a soccer game, I boldly blocked a defender's boot upfield from a distance of about 3 yards. It hurt like a... it hurt a lot, and jogged my brain and interfered with my vision for several minutes and everything.
But that no one asked me about.
Monday I stopped for lunch at Burgerville in Vancouver, Salmon Creek to be precise. I polished off my milkshake before the burger and fries even arrived. I got in the car and had a bite of the burger--it was REALLY GOOD--and a couple of fries. They needed salt. I went back for salt and decided to fill my water bottle too. Anyway, all this to note that I was doddling my way up, it was early enough I had the luxury. I was heading onto the onramp when I saw a young fella hitchhiking to Olympia. Poor sucker even had a bicycle. I had the space and, well I was bored enough to want to share the ride. I pulled over.
"I was beginning to think I'd never get a ride!" he said.
"Is that your bike?" I asked.
"Yep." him.
"Do you think it'll fit?" I asked.
"Yeah, I'll take off the front tire, no problem." He said.
So I got out of the car to rearrange some stuff in the way back. I folded up the dog cage and threw some of the rest of my crap on top of it. I was pleased to note that Henri wasn't trying to get out, then suddenly I realized Henri's on the front seat maowing my burger. DANG IT!! I ran to the front door and opened it to pounce on Henri, and if possible rescue my lunch. Only it didn't quite work that way. Somehow I opened the door too slowly or lunged in too quickly, but I whacked my face on the edge of my car door. Right in my eye too. Well, almost in my eye. I hit the bone on the bottom part of my eyesocket. Jeesh that hurt. I held my hand on it, alternately with sorting through my lunch bag to assess the state of things there. The burger was nearly intact, Henri had just gotten through the bag, the fries were as yet untouched.. Ow! Man, did I feel stupid.
Then I noticed I had a little blood on my fingers. (Gag). So I stepped into the car to look in the mirror. I had a small cut under my eye, it's about three quarters of an inch long, and lo there is more blood on my face than I expected. That thing is bleeding. The hitcher had just finished loading his bag and his bike and I told him. "Um, I just hit my face on my door." I can't remember what he said but it was something in the vein of "do you need to stop somewhere and clean it off?" "No," I said, "I think I want to go to a hospital. I'm sorry, you're going to need to get your stuff out of my car." And off I went.
Of course, after I was at the ER for 5 minutes, the bleeding had stopped and I noticed the cut was staying pretty well closed tight. Still, I thought it was a good idea to sit tight and get cleaned up and some kind of bandaging or something. And it hit me, goddam it, I left my lunch in the car again. Henri got the whole rest of my burger and fries.
Now everyone asks, "whoa what happened to your eye?!" And I get to say, "I whacked myself in the face with my car door trying to rescue my lunch from my dog." Not a valiant soccer move, but a self-inflicted wound from a match of wills to eat. I'm defeated by my dog.
It's turned a little bit yellowy green by today. I'm hoping it'll be gone by the time I get to the UK. It'll certainly still be a little colorful in California.
See you Thursday!
Deb
Well done and good work. It's amazing how exhaustive seemingly simple things can be in foreign circumstances with a different infrastructure. Hopefully the kids will acknowledge the effort required and moderate their demands. In any case "you can't be asked to do the impossible" . . . or maybe, you can refuse to do the impossible.
Thanks for all the gorgeous photos - they double the fun of your postings . . .
I was just admiring your photos of Joe, thank you!
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