Saturday 10 November 2012

Old News



Mr. Personality
 
 I came across a copy of an e-mail I had sent Dan on November 17, 2005 while he was in England and I was teaching at QSI Sarajevo.  At the time, Logan was 17 months old and Hannah was 4.  It's like time travelling, but without the hassle of building a time machine.

Hi Honey,
Since we don't have a lot of time to talk, I thought I'd keep you in the loop via e-mail.
     Logan has really developed his own personality.  I'm not sure I like it all the time.  For example, if I get mad at him and sternly tell him to go to sleep, he'll shout back at me, calling me a fascist dictator, or something like that.  When he was in the tub tonight, he started to throw the bath toys out of the tub.  I told him not to do it--twice--and after each time, he threw out another toy.  Then I wagged my finger and scolded, so he threw out another one.  I smacked his hand and threatened him, he protested and called me names as he threw out another toy.  I finally hauled him out of the tub to the sound of his angry tears and protests.
     Hannah has really taken to one of the kids in our class.  Of course, it's the kid who is the biggest trouble maker.  His parents are going to be called in for a conference regarding his behaviour.  He is from another country and is learning to speak English.  He has some learning disability that is sort of like ADHD, but somehow, much, MUCH worse.  Hannah gets a kick out of his accent and has learned to mimic it to perfection.  It makes me see PURPLE.  Her ability to copy voice inflections is unbelievable.   However, I just don't want to hear that accent if I'm not getting paid!
     She had to do a worksheet today writing the numerals one through four.  She whizzed right through it with no assistance, writing much better than 90%  of the other kids who have been in school over a year longer than she has.  Hannah has only started school since October.  She also knows her letters and sounds better than ALL of the other kids and can easily read and write, "at, cat, hat, mat, sat, rat, fat, bat."
     It has taken her about a month to figure out her place in the class.  She annoys the snot out of most kids because she doesn't respond to their nonverbal cues, but she is finally figuring out she can't just knock down other children's towers or climb on them or barge into their games.  Most of the English speaking kids were there last year and have formed their own cliques, so that leaves her the non-English speakers with which to play.  I told her when we moved to England, ALL the kids would be able to speak English.
     Honey, if you really want us to fly to England in 30 days for Christmas, we need to get the tickets and I haven't heard from you yet regarding where and when Ryan Air flies.  To be honest, the whole thought of having to pack up and drag 2 little kids across Europe is not high on my list of things I can't wait to do, so I'm pretty willing to let it slide.  I'm going to need some help on this one, OK?
     Well baby, I've got a sink full of dishes and toys scattered everywhere that beckons, so I need to go.

P.S.  We did end up flying to England for Christmas and it was exactly the 3-ring circus I knew it would be.  Luckily, my mom was with me and helped us get to Heathrow with some sanity.  Hannah fell ill on the flight with a fever and when we got to the airport, was delusional.  Good times...

First snow in Sarajevo



Learning to work with others