Baby's First "Tat", and Other School Tales

Yes, the girls got their very first "tat", henna tatoo that is.  Part of the appeal of going to an International School is you get to experience holidays far and wide.  We went to a celebration of Ditwalli, the Indian festival of light.  It is a celebration of the symbolic victory of light over dark, good over evil.  The children sang a song, and ten children danced in native costume.  There were candles, and a Indian dessert made with bulgar wheat and sugar water flavored with cardamon.  The Indian mothers were very impressed that I knew that it was cardamon, and I explained that I was actually Syrian now, despite my appearance. 

The best part was henna tatoos for all!  Nicole got two, Samantha got three.  If you have never had one, they basically "piped" the design on your hand, and you wait for it to dry, where it matures to a darker brown.  This was very interesting, because it took about one hour for it to dry, most tatoos were placed on the palm of the hand, and all the children were very tempted to play with the mud that had been intentionally put on their bodies.  Most kids ended up with a big henna splotch. 

The girls seem to be very happy in school, but they miss their friends in the States greatly.  Keep those e-mails coming!  Samantha's class has the typical "cliques", and Nicole actually has a classmate similar in size to herself. 

Poor Nicole had the day of a lifetime when we first arrived.  Her very first day of school, in this very science class, she saw a film that she will never forget...

Yes, her very first Science class she saw a explicit cartoon on sex ed.  Now animal planet has helped me immensely prepare the children for this subject, but I can only imagine her poor little mind when she had to deal with the visuals. 

Nicole and Samantha are in the same "school", but the middle and lower schools are separated by floors.  Nicole even has a cool middle school lounge to hang out in.

Yes, that is a foosball table, it's very popular here. 

I'm off to school now to help Samantha's class celebrate Rabelichtli, the Swiss holiday.  This marks the end of the harvest season, celebrating the last root vegetable that comes out of the ground, the often forgotten turnip.  You carve the turnip to accept a candle, then thin the rind so the light glows through the sides.  There are parades of people carrying these turnips around to also commemorate the beginning of the winter season. 

The girls have already gotten involved with after school activities.  Samantha is doing indoor soccer (less running!), and Nicole is joining the swim team.  Yes, the school has a pool!

Not that we need one, because we are already swimming outside.