School visit and ice cream

We went to the school today and there was construction going on so it was understandably intimidating. But once we got inside, we met a lovely man that made Ruby and Felix feel very comfortable and excited about going to school. The first thing he showed them was the huge pool and sport court. The only trouble was it was hard to settle them down to talk after that but David and I will go back tomorrow for a meeting without the kids. As Ruby's nerves grow, so do mine. I know she'll do great but it will be a little tense at first.

We've met Loads of neighborhood kids now, in fact, it was a bit overwhelming. We live right across from a soccer field (READ: empty lot used for soccer). They had so many questions. They had their English book from school and kept asking me to read it. I was a little scatter-brained trying to read and answer questions while keeping an eye on Ruby and Felix. It was fun though and the boys have a lot of energy. They came over to play in our yard later in the afternoon - they are all ages 6-10. They were respectful and friendly and shared well with Ruby and Felix. Today there were a few girls that came by that I was not so sure about - playing keep away with Felix and then not taking to kindly to us having to go inside. We'll see where these friendships go. Not surprisingly Ruby is the size of the 8 year olds and Felix is the size of the 5 year olds.

Today was a big day in my world in terms of increasing my confidence. I ventured out on my own for the first time (without David). Today is Ruby's 5th birthday and even though we've celebrated many times already I asked her what special thing she would like to do. She requested a motocarro ride! I decided to take her downtown to an ice cream cafe for a treat. She ordered the special sundae and it took her entire being just to make it to through the top layer. She was a trooper though and plugged away. We also managed to get Felix some more shoes, fruit and toothbrushes with no language problems whatsoever. To top it off, I was even able to direct the motocarro driver back to our house. Success in small steps!

Today marks one week we have been here. I miss everyone so it is great to hear from people but am surprised at how well things have been going. There are still challenges of course but as most of you know, I had my expectations set pretty low ;) Nervous that the internet has been down for the last day and am planning to look into a satellite connection - there is no way I will be able to retain my job without a reliable connection and there is no way I can lose my job.