nuestra escuela de español

Reasons we loved the kids’ language school:

• structure:  After two weeks of vacation/moving/craziness, we needed some kind of routine.  Free-form days are great for a while, but we were desperate for an anchor in this new, overwhelming environment.
• a break from family time:  There had been a lot of intense family togetherness during the aforementioned vacation/moving/craziness.  A lot.  And really, for me, since June.  It’s true what they say about familiarity… and absence.
• settling in:  Rob needed to set up his office and get to work.  I needed to set up the house and forage for sustenance.  All of these things take twice as long in a new city, or three times as long in a new country, or four times as long in Spain.  Any extra hours we could get without two demanding tiny people around was immensely helpful.
• a break while single parenting:  Single parenting your 2nd week in a foreign country is no joke.  Our neighborhood feels very safe, so that wasn’t a worry.  But jet lag and culture shock take their toll, as does being the only parent dealing with the jet lag and culture shock of two demanding tiny people.  Having a little time to myself each day kept crazy mommy from visiting.
  

  Waiting for daddy to come home.

• real world practice:  The teachers made the kids put their learning to the test every day.  Their class went to the neighborhood shops to ask questions, ran scavenger hunts, went on field trips, interviewed random strangers, and interacted with the staff.  The students learned quickly that no one understood English, and everyone was charmed with their Spanish.  A valuable lesson that I tried, and failed, to teach them myself.  
• extra activities:  After school the whole family could participate in the activity of the day: a movie, a tour, a game, a trip, etc.  It was a fantastic way to get to know a new culture and learn about our new home town.’

painting traditional ceramics pots

pick up fùtbol

visiting the Alhambra with their teacher

making and eating paella and sangria

• new friends:  We met some amazing people through CastiLa. They all have children about the same age as ours and it was such a relief for the Violet and Graham to know that they’d have friends in their regular school when it started.  It has also been unbelievably helpful for us, as parents and expats navigating this transition, just to have other adults going through the same thing.  With our pooled knowledge gleaned from daily discoveries, we’re actually piecing together the puzzle of this life in the Albayzin.

party on our roof

Coming soon:  walking to school