First Day of Sala de Cinco

Today, Johnny started Kindergarten!

(If we were in the Northen Hemisphere, he'd have started in September.)

~

Inititally they have an adapted schedule which I am so thankful for.

Today I got to go with him to meet his new buddies and the other parents. It was SO fun and I loved watching Johnny discover all the new things and the smiling faces.

Tomorrow and Monday he goes for an hour and a half and then on Tuesday, the day David and Andrew start, he will have his normal schedule which is 2:15 pm - 5:55 pm. (David & Andrew start an hour earlier.)

~

We decided to change schools for a few reasons, the main one being the fact that Haroldo Andenmatten was so so far away (30 minutes one way). Their new school is Instituto de Niños Argentinos and is about 6 blocks from our house. They'll be able to have neighborhood buddies and we will save more than 2 hours a day travelling. It just makes sense.

~

Johnny gets to wear the PE uniform under his pintorcito each day.
Seño Andrea, Johnny, and Seño Valeria

The other boys, however, have grey slacks, collared shirts, and dress shoes.

They are excited to start the new school, but very unimpressed with uniform, especially the dress shoes. They will get to wear their PE uniform once a week with tennis shoes, but those other 4 days will be quite a bit more formal. Is it mean that I think it's funny?

I loved his classroom: the brightness, the organization, and the fun atmosphere.

I am still a little shocked, however, that my youngest is in Kindergarten.

The Barfs

Last night Johnny had the barfs. Right before he was supposed to start his swimming performance for the finale of his summer camp, he started to puke, in the locker room bathroom, in front of all the 4-5 year olds. He said, "Oh, darn it. This was going to be the best day yet."

~

He slept next to me all night and would wake up and say, "I need to barf. I'd like to barf in the toilet, though, and not the bowl." He's a tough cookie, and I think that's what he had eaten too.

~

Here is his drawing of the experience(s).

The toilet, Johnny, and me.

He is all better now - it must have been the 12 hour flu - and he's begging to play Uno Spin.

Have a great, barf-free weekend.

Cena con Hugo y Susana

Last Thursday night we had dinner at Hugo and Susana's house. As you know, Hugo is our language professor and very good friend. His sweet wife has become a good friend as well. They have blessed us more than we could have imagined.

~~

Besides teaching at the Facultad de Lenguas, Hugo teaches high school classes at night to adults who didn't have the opportunity to go to school in their youth and now want to grow in their knowledge and better their lives. He will be able to offer our business training courses to students of his in whom he sees potential and the desire to grow.

My boys and their first course.

Hugo annd Susana have a beautiful home and we loved being surrounded by all the well-cared-for greenery on their front patio. We also enjoyed being able to look through their house at their vast library of books. Susana recently received her Masters in Education and instructs professors how to teach. She used to be a Philosophy professor, so Chris was in heaven looking at all the titles of her books, even if they were in Spanish.

On another note, did you know Chris's mom and Frank will be here in 16 days? It will be a great comfort to have them here as the kids start their new school year and we begin our work.

Happy Valentine's Day tomorrow.

Sientan el amor desde Argentina.

Just wondering...

What would you do if you found the largest one of these in the shower with you?

Crawling up the wall, next to your towel, with its long crusty body creeping closer and closer to yours?

(And please don't forget that when you're in the shower you are in an exposed and semi-helpless state.)


Just so you know, my reaction was to scream a very girly scream and then yell Chris's name.
He came to the rescue, like always, but I did have to point out the sick cooka-rotch (as Johnny calls them) to each son before it was crushed.
These are some vulnerable times.


Photo credit to Grant Johnson
(thanks for taking such a beautiful, disgusting picture)