Summer School

Well.....they started school today with a lot of butterflies in their stomachs.  After we dropped them off we sat down with the head of the primary school to go over their evaluations.  The psychological interview had no surprises (Jonathan - perfectionist, Renee - shy, Elisa - young (compared to the 1st graders - at least she is being compared to the 1st graders and not kindergarteners!).  We had to fill out more forms, pay more money, kiss more people and then we had a coffee during "recess" and saw all three kids looking pretty content.  Unlike Kennedy/LaSalle, during breaks the kids run in circles around the building.  It will take some getting used to.

After we finished with that I took a bus over to the main synagogue and after some drilling discovered that without an official host I could not enter the building.  Perhaps we will try and get there for Friday night services with a "host."  Apparently, most kids finish school, play with a friend, and then go over to services - pretty tight community.  The synagogue is in one of the wealthier neighborhoods in Santiago but what was surprising is that it also has a very poor section.  I am sure you probably see that throughout the city.

I got back and the Nana was here cleaning up - I could get used to this!  The best part is that I have to speak Spanish with her (and she is very patient).

There is a huge bread culture here.  It seems that everybody stops off at a grocery store, "corner" store, or bakery to pick up there bread on their way home from work or their Nana picks it up for breakfast.  There are bins full of different individual breads and I keep bringing back a different one every day to try but I think the one with the softest middle is going to be the biggest hit.  I tried to find a cheat sheet on-line to describe all of the breads and the closest that I found was this:


http://mariannegraff.com/2010/01/12/breads-of-chile/