So, after that amazing meeting with Nathan’s teacher, I headed back to our apartment in the rain. As I got closer, I could hear my boys yelling for me… typical White boys. ☺ I waved and realized that they were ALL out on the balcony. Wes was taking pictures, and the boys were all waving. I thought everything was fine… until I got close enough for Wes to ask me if I had a key to get in. I didn’t, b/c they were all home, and they usually just buzz me in. I’ve never needed a key before… until this particular day!
Our sliding glass doors have no handle on the outside, so if you shut the door behind you, there’s no way for you to get back in unless someone INSIDE opens it for you. Well, yeah, you guessed it. Wes had asked Jonathan to go inside to get tissues for Carolina. Wes was wiping Carolina’s nose when he hear the door shut… Jonathan had closed it solidly behind him. AND, since I didn’t have a key to get into the house… there was no way for me to let them back in!
My guess is this is all very European (or maybe just big city), but we have a door-bell that has a camera connected to it. When you walk up to the outside of our apartment, there is a button for each apartment. So, when someone buzzes ours, we can look into the screen and see who is there. We push the button and it unlocks the first gate and then the inside door to the lobby for them to enter. Then, once you get up to our door, there is no door-knob on the outside. It can only be opened with a key or by somebody on the inside (since there IS a door knob on the inside). So, even if could’ve gotten a neighbor to buzz me in, there was no way for me to get into the apartment itself.
I had quite the adventure with the language that afternoon! I had to walk down to the real-estate agency that rented us the apartment, and try to get them to understand what happened. I didn’t have a phone on me or anything… there was no way to even call a colleague to help! I didn’t know anyone’s number by heart. They were all in my cell phone! So… the girl at the office knew who I was, thankfully, but she didn’t speak any English. I was pleasantly surprised that I knew enough Spanish to communicate what had happened. I’m sure that I didn’t say it all correctly, but she got the gist of it. She was very patient and helpful. She started making phone calls to see if she could find the owner.
Well, to make a long story short, the owner came over to unlock the door for us. All in all, it could’ve been SO much worse!! Wes and the kids were out on the balcony (while it was raining) for about two hours. When I first walked up, I was so scared that Wes was going to tell me that Carolina was inside the apartment by herself, and the rest of them were locked out on the balcony. THAT would’ve been really bad. Also, if we leave the keys in the door on the inside, you can’t unlock it from the outside… even if you have the key! I was also scared that we’d get up there, and we wouldn’t be able to open it b/c of that. SO, praise the Lord, everything worked out ok! I stood in the rain for a while, and the kids got a little cold, but we were all just fine! What an adventure! I’m sure they were all thinking what Crazy American’s we were!!! ☺
Monday, March 8, 2010
Praise the Lord!
Wow. THANK YOU all for praying! I can tell we had our prayer warriors on their knees! Nathan did SO much better this past Monday when we dropped him off! He didn’t even cry!... at all. We walked into the school yard, and the kids in his class were lining up to go inside. When Nathan got close, they all started yelling his name. It was too cute. Nathan got that bashful smile on his face and looked at the ground… most of them were girls who were calling for him. ;)
The meeting with Nathan’s teacher went really well. I think that has helped a lot. We were able to clear up a lot of stuff as we communicated through a translator (an “English” teacher at the school who doesn’t speak very good English. ;) ). Anyway, they didn’t’ realize that we don’t start school until 5 or 6 in the states, so this is Nathan’s first experience with “real” school. They begin school here at 3, so by the time they get to Nathan’s age, they are not really ‘playing’ anymore. They sit the whole time at their desks and do their work. I think that’s been a huge adjustment for Nathan… plus, they begin cursive here as the first letters that the kids learn. They don’t do printing until much later. They didn’t think Nathan knew any of his letters, but it turns out that he just doesn’t recognize them in cursive! Lol.
They have also found a University student to come in a couple hours a day to help Nathan. She is studying English at the University, so it’s been good for both of them. Nathan says he is “teaching” her English. Lol. I think she has made a world of difference for Nathan. He has someone to talk with and to make laugh. We all noticed a huge difference once Marisa came into the picture.
Nathan’s teacher is so amazing. I’m SO thankful for her. (Her name is also Marisa… funny that they BOTH have the same name!) She has been so patient and kind to us, and she has taken such good care of Nathan. I know it’s extra work for her to have Nathan in her class, but she has just completely opened her heart to him. She has pulled up pictures from N.C. to try to make him feel more at home when he’s crying… she hugs him and holds him. She even sent home a photo album of Nathan and his classmates. She is a gift!
Once we were able to figure out the gaps in where Nathan is and where the class is, Marisa was able to get a better idea of how to work with Nathan. She now has a plan to ease him into the “structured” environment by letting him “play” with play dough and do certain activities to strengthen his fine motor skills. She is also going to work with him in capital letters instead of cursive for right now. She says she thinks he is very intelligent, but that the language is a barrier. So, I’m very excited! In the couple days that these changes have been made, we’ve seen an amazing difference in Nathan. He still cried a couple days last week, but it was SO much better than before. I know that your prayers have made a huge difference. Thank you, all of you who prayed!... and all of you who responded to us. It’s so comforting to hear from you. It helps me know that we are not in this alone… we are not fighting this battle by ourselves!!
The meeting with Nathan’s teacher went really well. I think that has helped a lot. We were able to clear up a lot of stuff as we communicated through a translator (an “English” teacher at the school who doesn’t speak very good English. ;) ). Anyway, they didn’t’ realize that we don’t start school until 5 or 6 in the states, so this is Nathan’s first experience with “real” school. They begin school here at 3, so by the time they get to Nathan’s age, they are not really ‘playing’ anymore. They sit the whole time at their desks and do their work. I think that’s been a huge adjustment for Nathan… plus, they begin cursive here as the first letters that the kids learn. They don’t do printing until much later. They didn’t think Nathan knew any of his letters, but it turns out that he just doesn’t recognize them in cursive! Lol.
They have also found a University student to come in a couple hours a day to help Nathan. She is studying English at the University, so it’s been good for both of them. Nathan says he is “teaching” her English. Lol. I think she has made a world of difference for Nathan. He has someone to talk with and to make laugh. We all noticed a huge difference once Marisa came into the picture.
Nathan’s teacher is so amazing. I’m SO thankful for her. (Her name is also Marisa… funny that they BOTH have the same name!) She has been so patient and kind to us, and she has taken such good care of Nathan. I know it’s extra work for her to have Nathan in her class, but she has just completely opened her heart to him. She has pulled up pictures from N.C. to try to make him feel more at home when he’s crying… she hugs him and holds him. She even sent home a photo album of Nathan and his classmates. She is a gift!
Once we were able to figure out the gaps in where Nathan is and where the class is, Marisa was able to get a better idea of how to work with Nathan. She now has a plan to ease him into the “structured” environment by letting him “play” with play dough and do certain activities to strengthen his fine motor skills. She is also going to work with him in capital letters instead of cursive for right now. She says she thinks he is very intelligent, but that the language is a barrier. So, I’m very excited! In the couple days that these changes have been made, we’ve seen an amazing difference in Nathan. He still cried a couple days last week, but it was SO much better than before. I know that your prayers have made a huge difference. Thank you, all of you who prayed!... and all of you who responded to us. It’s so comforting to hear from you. It helps me know that we are not in this alone… we are not fighting this battle by ourselves!!
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