One and a half weeks of school down (and one 3-day weekend already), and we're starting to find our footing. Somewhat.
There is still a lot to figure out and get familiar with, but our big successes this week were that Ani didn't cry at school and Everleigh figured out how to use her ID card to buy ice cream at the canteen. (Let's see how quickly she blows through that $5 I put on there...)
I'm making it through, day by day. I'm finding planning time to be a bit tricky. I was definitely spoiled with my schedule and teaching assistant support in China. I still have two prep times a day here, but they're not together, so by the time I get my kids situated and sit down to start doing some reading, planning, anchor-chart making, or material-prepping, it's almost time for them to come back again. School ends early, so I figured I'd just do most of my prep after school for a bit. But they shut things down pretty quickly. The office closes at 3:15, and today at 4:15 I literally got locked into my building. Hint, hint! Time to go home, Ruthai! So I'm finding preparation to be tough.
We're also settling into the suburban lifestyle. In China, we were used to running down just outside our apartment for work, groceries, dinner, drinks with friends - anything and everything! Here we definitely need to plan things out a bit more. There are some food options in the neighborhood (a golf cart ride away), but for the most part we try to do our shopping on the weekend and make dinners at home. The good news is that we don't have to plan for leftovers. The girls eat a set lunch at school and we eat at the canteen. There are quite a few options and it's ridiculously cheap - about $1.50 for a meal. Maybe $2 if you get dessert or fruit.
Our house is nice, but I'm eager for it to feel like a home. Our shipment with all of the girls' toys and books, our artwork and kitchenware, and a lot more is most likely here already, but we can't get it until we have our work permits, which we've been told will take until October to process.
People here are very friendly, and it seems like they have a lot of fun things established like after school pick-up games of ultimate frisbee and basketball, yoga, game night, and block parties. I feel welcome, but at the same time I'm still seeking "my people."
Mart and I went for an after dinner walk yesterday (Hooray, live-in nanny! The flexibility is awesome! The language barrier, not so much... Gotta brush up on my Thai...) and we just checked in on how we're feeling. For me, I have the same feeling that I remember having when we first moved to China. I'm not unhappy. But not super happy, either. Just kind of fumbling along. But knowing how amazing it became in China gives me hope that if I just give it time, things will come together here, as well. Changing countries and schools, we knew the grass wouldn't be greener - just different.
Here are a few pictures from week one.
There is still a lot to figure out and get familiar with, but our big successes this week were that Ani didn't cry at school and Everleigh figured out how to use her ID card to buy ice cream at the canteen. (Let's see how quickly she blows through that $5 I put on there...)
I'm making it through, day by day. I'm finding planning time to be a bit tricky. I was definitely spoiled with my schedule and teaching assistant support in China. I still have two prep times a day here, but they're not together, so by the time I get my kids situated and sit down to start doing some reading, planning, anchor-chart making, or material-prepping, it's almost time for them to come back again. School ends early, so I figured I'd just do most of my prep after school for a bit. But they shut things down pretty quickly. The office closes at 3:15, and today at 4:15 I literally got locked into my building. Hint, hint! Time to go home, Ruthai! So I'm finding preparation to be tough.
We're also settling into the suburban lifestyle. In China, we were used to running down just outside our apartment for work, groceries, dinner, drinks with friends - anything and everything! Here we definitely need to plan things out a bit more. There are some food options in the neighborhood (a golf cart ride away), but for the most part we try to do our shopping on the weekend and make dinners at home. The good news is that we don't have to plan for leftovers. The girls eat a set lunch at school and we eat at the canteen. There are quite a few options and it's ridiculously cheap - about $1.50 for a meal. Maybe $2 if you get dessert or fruit.
Our house is nice, but I'm eager for it to feel like a home. Our shipment with all of the girls' toys and books, our artwork and kitchenware, and a lot more is most likely here already, but we can't get it until we have our work permits, which we've been told will take until October to process.
People here are very friendly, and it seems like they have a lot of fun things established like after school pick-up games of ultimate frisbee and basketball, yoga, game night, and block parties. I feel welcome, but at the same time I'm still seeking "my people."
Mart and I went for an after dinner walk yesterday (Hooray, live-in nanny! The flexibility is awesome! The language barrier, not so much... Gotta brush up on my Thai...) and we just checked in on how we're feeling. For me, I have the same feeling that I remember having when we first moved to China. I'm not unhappy. But not super happy, either. Just kind of fumbling along. But knowing how amazing it became in China gives me hope that if I just give it time, things will come together here, as well. Changing countries and schools, we knew the grass wouldn't be greener - just different.
Here are a few pictures from week one.
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| Block party in the 'hood |
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| What happens when you forget to charge your "mini-van"... |
First Day of School!
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| My classroom is starting to come together... |
You know it all. It will get better. How many of us can relate to this not unhappy, but not happy feeling? Hugs, friend.
ReplyDeleteYou are absolutely right- grass isn't greener, it's just different. You will find your people and add them to your growing family of friends around the world. Love you all and sending hugs until we see you all soon.
ReplyDelete💗 from the Boharas
DeleteThinking of you. Love that you took a walk to reflect with each other. And yes, don't we know that well, this feeling of different grass... somehow it's so hard to remember it being anything other than green sometimes. Love your words, your reflective nature and you. Can't wait to see you soon, my friend!
ReplyDelete