Summer's End

Dear Friends and Family.
I imagine you are celebrating the last weekend of summer at the beach, lake, poolside or taking in one last get-away. Knowing many of you, I bet your children have had their back-to-school haircuts already and an outfit picked out. I am trying to remember the cooler temperatures, the crispness in the air. Oh, the beauty of fall, I am missing it for sure. Picking peaches and apples and the fall raspberry crop...

I am thinking of all my teacher friends and family, my little neighborhood buddies and special friends of my children heading off to school in a few days. I am sure you are eager and excited. Maybe a little nervous too? I wish you all a great school year! And I would love to know how school is going for all of you. Many changes in the Newburyport system this year...I hope they are positive, for you teachers, the kiddo's and our community.

Our children have just completed three weeks of school. They are in full swing with homework, tests and school trips. They ride one of 70+ buses to school. They wear a uniform, which I love, and they don't seem to mind, but need to complain about anyway. We leave our flat at 6:57 a.m. to take a slooow elevator ride from the 20th floor, to meet the bus right outside for a 7:03 pickup. The bus ride lasts about 25 minutes. Their school day is 8-3. After school activities end at 4:15, but not everyday, and they return home around 5 pm on those days. The classrooms are airconditioned, and the open air hallways, of course, are not. It seems to rain very hard everyday where they are, which is north and in the rain forest. Fortunately the halls are covered, but the rain comes down hard into the courtyards. I love that!

Leah has adjusted quite well. She loves her teachers, and has made new friends easily. She is learning to play the flute, which she happily practices daily, and is taking, and really enjoying, Mandarin. She will meet her new Orton-Gillingham tutor next week, finally. Of course, no one will compare to Teresa, her tutor in Newburyport.

Jane and Evan continue to struggle. They miss home, and their schools, so much. The biggest hole in their lives right now are the friends they left behind. The Singapore American School is huge. Evan's 10th grade class is larger than the entire GDA student body. Jane and Leah certainly come from even smaller schools. I imagine that is overwhelming! It is not easy to make a connection with another student. Jane is the only new student in her home base, and is the only American, actually, the only Westerner in that class. It is heartbreaking for Jed and I to see these two children so lonely.

Jed is great at getting photos onto the blog. He likes to write about little trips and outings, but not so much about the emotions that are challenging us. We have seen some beautiful places, eaten delicious new foods, and continue to explore our surroundings with new families we have met. The children are not even aware of how much they are coping with and how well they have done so far, but they are still so angry at us. I still believe they will "figure it out" and will grow strong and happy through this experience. Please keep your fingers crossed!

With lots of love-
Lauren