Start of School

We arrived back in Japan the day after Scott's 35th birthday. The flight was fairly uneventful....pretty smooth, and overall, just a typical flight. We flew Delta, and I am not sure if we will fly them again. Scott's company flies us First Class, due to the length of the flight (13 hours). Our tickets back this summer were unbelievably expensive (someone at the travel agency dropped the ball- by the time they booked our tickets, they were almost DOUBLE the price I found them for--but that is another story!). My seat had no Video system that worked, and a seat that wouldn't hold position- so two of the main reasons you buy a first class ticket didn't work! All the stewardess' could say was "sorry" and one even went so far as to tell me that Delta was refurbishing their planes this fall, so they weren't putting any money into anything that didn't work...so basically, everyone who bought a ticket prior to that was stuck with whatever disfunctionality their seat had, with no other options. UUGGGHHH!! Curses to Delta, I tell you.

This trip back, we all had horrible jet lag. I am not sure if it was because it was a gazillion degrees outside (OK, like 95+ and 100% humidity!), or what, but we all struggled for over a week to get back to some sort of normal. Hanna started school only 4 days after arriving...NOT smart on our part. She was so tired and out of sorts that she screamed, kicked and fought me and the teachers the first 5 days of school- wouldn't go into her room, said loudly- I HATE my school, kicked, flailed, and bawled...not fun. By day 6 though, she was declaring her love for her school, and now is enjoying it very much. Her teachers, Ms. Carr-Berry and Ms. Tomoto are great, and very patient, thank goodness! Her class has 20 kids in it, and she is getting the opportunity this year to make friends, which is really nice!


Hanna's 1st day at Yoyogi International School

Maya's 2nd grade teacher's name is Mrs. Lavender, and Maya liked her right off the bat. This year, there was only 1 person she knew in her class, and it didn't bother her one little bit. She is enjoying it and her bus ride very much. ASIJ is very into getting the most out of each student, and I think they put her in a class, with a teacher that will pull our her strengths! We have parent share conferences next week to discuss Maya with her teacher- how we can best set up a successful year for her in Ms.Lavender's class. Each set of parents gets a 15 min conference to discuss their child with the teacher at the beginning of the year, so that they know how to encourage each child in the way that suits them best. What a great idea, no? I think we are getting very spoiled by these international schools, and it may be very difficult to come back to a regular public school!!


Maya's 1st Day of 2nd Grade at ASIJ