August 2016 - Back to school 😳
August, the month our boys would start in their new school.
I think most kids don't really look forward to going back to school, and when it is a new school, with all new kids, another language and when you probably have some high school disaster scenario's in your head from movies you've seen ... it must have been terrifying for them! They did however not show this! I dropped them off - there was NO WAY I could come inside with them 😆 - and off they went ...
When they came back, they seemed relieved with how it went. I did not get that from their typical short (male?😏) answers like 'good', 'ok', 'boring'... on all my questions, but they were relaxed & that was the most satisfying answer I could get.
School starts here @ 8.10AM and ends @ 3.00PM. During this time they have 4 classes, each time with different kids and different teachers, no breaks and a lunch break of 30 minutes. Very different than in Belgium and hard to really get to know your fellow students. Will this be the place where they'll meet their new friends?
As soccer has always been important for them, we subscribed them in a club here, and in August they went to their first training. Again with new kids and under a whopping 35 degrees Celsius.
It sure is hard to see your kids being confronted with being outside of their comfort zone like that and not being able to fix it all for them. Of course it will make them stronger, but it will take time, and at that moment I just wished I could forward time for them.
But again, they did just fine. I'm pretty proud of how they've been coping with all of this!
Up until today there hasn't been a moment where any of us have regretted our decision to go on this adventure, not even during these harder moments.
But let us come back to soccer. In Belgium we payed about 100 € per child for a whole year of soccer at competition level, including outfit, a ball, the facilities (real soccer fields, showers, cafeteria,...), a drink after every game, ... Here we pay about 1500$ per child! It does include the outfit, but that's about it. There are no facilities like 'real' soccer fields or showers or a cafeteria. They train in parks or school fields, and after the game everybody goes immediately home ... as the kids don't take a shower together and the parents don't have a drink together in the cafeteria 😏
The good thing about the latter is, that soccer doesn't take half of your day here 😜
And man, do we have nice views while watching our boys play! And we watch them from a comfy chair, because this is how the parents go to the games here: with chairs, blankets and an umbrella. I have to admit I love the chair part 😊
And in the mean while, we were getting to know the area. There are like a trillion hiking possibilities in the mountains in our 'backyard'.
Back in Belgium I liked to go running ... however my knees only supported off road trails, and the only off road trails here, are in the mountains 😳. So the first time I went into the mountains to replace my Belgian running workout, I knew I couldn't do it running, but I would at least do it at a serious pace ... Hahaha, well that idea only lasted 10 minutes! The old ladies I passed in the beginning with my 'serious pace', passed me (smiling 😏 ... I can't blame them) 15 minutes later while I was trying to catch my breath! Yep, 'just hiking' in the mountains will do just fine as a workout. And the advantage of hiking instead of running is that you can enjoy all the beauty the mountains have to offer ... and that's a lot.
One of my favourite hikes is the 'Adam's canyon trail'. I've done it several times alone, but also with my family and with friends.
It's a fun climb with a great finale
And if those mountains aren't enough, we also have a lakes close by to enjoy! Fresh water lakes ...
... and a (very) salty lake. Yep, we've got it all!
The last day of August our very first visitor from Belgium arrived. Emilie, the daughter of a colleague of mine, was coming for 2 weeks to Utah. With her, some goodies (Gin, chocolate, ...) from Belgium arrived as well.
So we ended August tastefully with a Gin Mare 😋!
I think most kids don't really look forward to going back to school, and when it is a new school, with all new kids, another language and when you probably have some high school disaster scenario's in your head from movies you've seen ... it must have been terrifying for them! They did however not show this! I dropped them off - there was NO WAY I could come inside with them 😆 - and off they went ...
When they came back, they seemed relieved with how it went. I did not get that from their typical short (male?😏) answers like 'good', 'ok', 'boring'... on all my questions, but they were relaxed & that was the most satisfying answer I could get.
School starts here @ 8.10AM and ends @ 3.00PM. During this time they have 4 classes, each time with different kids and different teachers, no breaks and a lunch break of 30 minutes. Very different than in Belgium and hard to really get to know your fellow students. Will this be the place where they'll meet their new friends?
As soccer has always been important for them, we subscribed them in a club here, and in August they went to their first training. Again with new kids and under a whopping 35 degrees Celsius.
It sure is hard to see your kids being confronted with being outside of their comfort zone like that and not being able to fix it all for them. Of course it will make them stronger, but it will take time, and at that moment I just wished I could forward time for them.
But again, they did just fine. I'm pretty proud of how they've been coping with all of this!
Up until today there hasn't been a moment where any of us have regretted our decision to go on this adventure, not even during these harder moments.
But let us come back to soccer. In Belgium we payed about 100 € per child for a whole year of soccer at competition level, including outfit, a ball, the facilities (real soccer fields, showers, cafeteria,...), a drink after every game, ... Here we pay about 1500$ per child! It does include the outfit, but that's about it. There are no facilities like 'real' soccer fields or showers or a cafeteria. They train in parks or school fields, and after the game everybody goes immediately home ... as the kids don't take a shower together and the parents don't have a drink together in the cafeteria 😏
The good thing about the latter is, that soccer doesn't take half of your day here 😜
And man, do we have nice views while watching our boys play! And we watch them from a comfy chair, because this is how the parents go to the games here: with chairs, blankets and an umbrella. I have to admit I love the chair part 😊
And in the mean while, we were getting to know the area. There are like a trillion hiking possibilities in the mountains in our 'backyard'.
Back in Belgium I liked to go running ... however my knees only supported off road trails, and the only off road trails here, are in the mountains 😳. So the first time I went into the mountains to replace my Belgian running workout, I knew I couldn't do it running, but I would at least do it at a serious pace ... Hahaha, well that idea only lasted 10 minutes! The old ladies I passed in the beginning with my 'serious pace', passed me (smiling 😏 ... I can't blame them) 15 minutes later while I was trying to catch my breath! Yep, 'just hiking' in the mountains will do just fine as a workout. And the advantage of hiking instead of running is that you can enjoy all the beauty the mountains have to offer ... and that's a lot.
One of my favourite hikes is the 'Adam's canyon trail'. I've done it several times alone, but also with my family and with friends.
It's a fun climb with a great finale
And if those mountains aren't enough, we also have a lakes close by to enjoy! Fresh water lakes ...
... and a (very) salty lake. Yep, we've got it all!
The last day of August our very first visitor from Belgium arrived. Emilie, the daughter of a colleague of mine, was coming for 2 weeks to Utah. With her, some goodies (Gin, chocolate, ...) from Belgium arrived as well.
So we ended August tastefully with a Gin Mare 😋!
💕💕 Dans quelques jours, ça fera un an ... ton dernier jour au boulot👑👑
ReplyDeleteJe sais, c'est quand même incroyable ... Le temps passe trop vite!
ReplyDelete