School Starts

The verdict on day 1: better than expected. Last night we had a lot jitters, butterflies and requests to homeschool. In the morning, it grew worse: can we skip today? I don’t want to go!  Why do we have to do this? As we all walked together, we fell into step with the hordes of other families making their way to school.  At the schoolyard, the scene was chaotic: tons of parents and kids greeting each other, loose lines by grade. Our kids were plainly terrified, make that practically catatonic with fear. Then it got a little better. The lady from the Bucknell exchange program who’d helped me via email, introduced herself, then an American man who’s been here for 6 years with a girl in JT’s class, and a British woman.  (Like the kids, we too stood out like sore thumbs). Knowing that some kids spoke English made it seem a little better. Then a boy who JT had met while playing soccer over the weekend, came up to shake his hand and point him to the right line.

The kids went in first, followed by all the parents. Everyone piled into the tiny “auditorium” to hear the principal give a speech stressing the importance of punctuality (which is basically ignored, after all, when your kids go to bed at 11, how do you get them to school on-time??!!). The rest was lost in the acoustics and hall noise. All the while, JT was giving Dad the “what have you gotten me into glare” Then the kids went to their classes and we left.

We worried aloud about what state they’d be in when we went to pick them up. Are we doing the right thing? Are they going to make friends? Will they be teased? Notice how only adults say “what an awesome trip!”  At 2pm, JT came bounding out with a huge smile and seemed very animated about his day. I think he was just happy it was over. Zoe seemed more subdued. They’d survived and were understandably proud of themselves. We were sure proud of them.