Finalmente, the children begin school! Because of the 5-day-long holiday surrounding Easter, today was the first day of school for Eric and Julia. They are enrolled at Colegio Patris, a nearby private, Catholic, bilingual school. They were quite anxious when I dropped them off this morning, though bribes of mid-week-dessert and after-school-shopping sweetened the deal. Bilingual education in Argentina means 1/2 day of English and 1/2 day in Spanish, so their morning classes are delivered exclusively in English (English language, social studies, something in science I think) and afternoon (Spanish language/literature, math, science?) is in Spanish. They managed to fudge their way through the “Catholic” bits of school, such as crossing yourself (at dinner tonight Chris taught them the good ol’ mnemonic for spectacles-testicles-wallet-watch to remember the correct sequence) and mumbling some prayers (they might have been mumbling even if they knew the words in Spanish). I’ll have them give their impressions in a few days, after the trauma has worn off a bit. Here are some pics from the end-of-day flag ceremony and them in their uniforms with their lunch boxes.
diana maps 