The little house. September 22, 2008

Madeline started school the last week of August – Mom took the day off of work to accompany her, and everything went well (Dad took the next day off of work to do the same).  Developmentally, Maddie was quite ready to start school and has been enjoying it ever since.

To call The Little House a ’school’ is a bit of a misnomer – it’s actually a small private daycare facility that structures time around certain activites every day.  It’s located on top of an old cinnamon plantation not far from our house, about 8 minutes by tuk-tuk.  It is an incredibly beautiful and peaceful location and the grounds are spacious and clean.  Maddie is one of the few non-Sri Lankan kids there, which is a good thing.  She is one of the youngest kids there – I think there is only one child that is younger, and the oldest children are a few years older than she is.  This is a good thing for Maddie, as she always prefers to hang out with the ‘old’ kids… and the best thing is, she is simply surrounded by other children constantly while there.

On her first day of school, Maddie made 3 paintings (every painting she’s ever done is kept, many hanging in the playroom at home – not a sustainable rate of holding on to things, but difficult to throw them out!)  She had a bit of trouble at her first storytime, as she was the only kid not sitting, preferring to be up front in the pages of the book the whole time.  She played, ran, washed her hands, had snack time on time, all in a very successful first day.

We are starting her with only 3 days a week at school at the moment – Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays.  This is until we feel like she is in ‘the groove’ enough to go 4 or 5 days a week.  She’s probably ready for this now, actually.  But we are in no hurry.  She has a great time with Rani during the days and has all kinds of play dates, so is definitely not bored.

Her best friends are a girl named Amy who is about a month younger, and of course Sonia.  This weekend we left on Friday afternoon and returned Sunday afternoon on a trip to the beach south of Colombo with some other families.  We all had a great time, and for Mom, it was her first time out of the city since arriving in Sri Lanka.  Such a beautiful country.

Settling in. September 9, 2008

As always when moving to a new country and a new school, it has been a crazy and very busy time over the past month. We started school on 12 August; the previous week we moved into our house, but between the two our time was filled with so many meetings and obligations… so the settling-in part has been drawn out and slow.

This is our forth country overseas, and it’s a completely different experience with a small child. First of all, the option to pull 12-15 hour days to get up to speed at first is simply doesn’t exist. Therefore everything that needs to be done professionally has to fit within the confines of an 8 to 9 hour work day. It’s an impossible amount of time to get everything done! Secondly, when you are at work during the day, you constantly wonder about your kid, and whether she is settling on ok with the new nanny, etc. It’s all very taxing.

Madeline has had at times severe separation anxiety, resulting from having almost 2 months of mom and dad being 100% available for her, every day. This would happen at the start of a school year anywhere, obviously not specific to being here. But putting it all together, it’s very trying, to say the least! But the fact that Madeline keeps us from being at school for 15 hours a day is a good thing, and serves to keep up grounded, reminding us of what is important and keeping everything in perspective.

So, just what is the girl up to these days? Sri Lanka has been quite a change for her – she’s at an interesting age where as long as she has her basic needs attended to, she’s still content, but is on the edge of needing much more and being profoundly affected by big changes. The fact that this is a change from the cozy, comfortable confines of Green Valley doesn’t help.

Many days went by before our departures in the morning did not cause huge tears and upsets. Now she enjoys when Rani comes and likes her very much… but the departures in the morning are still hard for mo mand dad. We’d much rather she have a good time with us each day instead of Rani!

Maddie’s health has not been super thus far in Sri Lanka (nor has Mom’s). She’s had more little colds in the first 3 weeks than she probably ever had in her whole life. At the moment she is fit as a fiddle, and doesn’t ever seem to be slowed down my much anyway. Two days before school started, she was up all night barfing, in one of the most disastrous nights we’ve had with her. But she bounced right back (though mom got sick a few days afterwards). Many people here with children tell us that it’s very common for kids to get sick a lot during the first few months after moving here. The change to the heavy humid island air can be dramatic.

Madeline started school on Monday the 25^th of August, and is going there 3 days a week in the mornings. Actually, it’s not really school, but a nice day-care place not far from our house. It’s great for her! More on this later.

When not in school, Madeline’s days are filled with play and plenty of play dates. Her best friend here is Sonia (pictured above!) Rani keeps her as busy as she can while keeping the house clean and tidy – it’s a big job for her, and we’ve been trying to get her permanent help. We’ve been through 2 different housekeepers already, as everyone wants a full time job, and we can only offer part-time. The scenario has been that someone will start working for us, then find another full time job and move on. Just last evening we hired someone part time who already has a job with another teacher at the school, and between the two part time salaries, she’s earning decent pay, so I think she will be happy.

The days where Maddie doesn’t go to school or another house for a play date can be hard for her, as we all know that she’s the kind of kid who really needs to get out and find lots of action. Our gardener, Namil, lives across the street and is a tuk-tuk driver, always available to take the girls anywhere. Maddie loves him, and loves riding in his tuk-tuk.

Finally we are feeling settled and comfortable and the hardest part is behind us.

Welcome to Sri Lanka. September 2, 2008

We are getting settled and back online in Sri Lanka, after a long hiatus from blogging. We arrived in this beautiful, lush country in the wee hours of August 1, after an incredibly long journey. From door to door, we spent 45 hours traveling! So imagine how happy we were to finally crawl into our hotel bed at the classy Mt Lavinia Hotel just south of Colombo. Madeline was a champ, brilliant…. far better than we would have ever expected! She never once had a breakdown and was as charming as any child could possibly be. She slept, played games, and was generally almost perfect. In fact, she probably handled the trip much better than mom and dad did. Part of the key to our success was the Zune, on which she was able to watch her beloved Winnie The Pooh for hours on end.

Our first few days were spent relaxing at the Mt Lavinia, and getting over jet lag, which is no easy feat when you are 12.5 time zones from home. On August 4 we finally moved into our house, and it was as grand as it was remembered. We started our new jobs on 12 August, and the entire month really was a whirlwind of business and adjustment. This is the first time we’ve moved to a new country with a kid, and it’s a really different experience. For one thing, we can’t pull 12hour workdays in the beginning in order get everything ready for the school year anymore. But maybe this is a good thing, as having a baby at home keeps everything in perspective.

Things have settled down now, and as a family we are getting into a groove. Madeline is enjoying living here, I think, and when our shipment arrives, we’ll be even more settled. Thank goodness for Rani, who is quite possibly the very best nanny EVER.

Many more blogs on the way!