In the last post I alluded to our polyglottic daughter.
We figured that if she’s going to already be fluent in English and Spanish we may
as well throw two more languages at her while turning her life upside-down by
moving to India. She’s resilient.
Ok, so while we weren’t that malicious when
deciding what AB should do during the day while Amanda and I worked we did opt
for an “International School” called A Belly full Of DreAms
(ABODE). Good ol’ Google Maps showed us the school was close to the
office and the hotel and it uses a Montessori / Multiple Intelligence
curriculum. We even had an hour long Skype conversation with the founder
of the school. We were sold.
Upon arriving in Hyderabad we headed to the school for a
tour. The school backs up to the Botanical Gardens in Hyderabad, so it’s
fairly secluded and quiet. There are several security guards on the
grounds at all times. The Office Administrator (Saritha) greeted us, had
one of the helpers take AB to play, and took us back to talk to the Director
(Snehal) and the founder (Suman). [Suman was talking to us via Skype
again. He might just be a disembodied head for all we know…] The
only shock is that the students are actually all Indian… We were told
there was an expatriate contingent…but maybe the one girl with one non-Indian
parent counts in their books J.
Other than that confusion, we’re very impressed with the
school. Lots of different “work” that the kids do throughout the day,
including plenty of breaks and quiet time. Plus, art and music
classes. And then Annabelle rolls into the office like a mad-woman. She’s having the time of her life.
In fact, after our meeting we just leave her there for the afternoon to enjoy
herself. When we arrived back she was still doing great. We’re the
best parents ever, aren’t we!? NAILED IT!
Reality sets in the next day when we drop her off again
and it sinks in with AB that this is the new routine. “Mom and Dad are
leaving you here alone all day with a bunch of people that look and behave NOTHING
like you”. Oh, and only the teachers are
fluent in English. The cultural barriers are seemingly as insurmountable
as the Himalayan Mountains that make India the great subcontinent that it
is. Saying goodbye isn’t easy for any of us, but we get through it.
Day two is worse. It’s hit or miss after that for a
couple weeks. There are a few boys in her class that are “free spirits”
and a little too rambunctious for AB’s liking. That, along with the HUGE
adjustment she is going through with new languages and cultural experiences, is enough to tip her over the edge each morning
and cling to us each afternoon when we pick her up. The saving grace in
the first few weeks is AB’s art teacher (Maddy) who dresses like an American
and is able to take AB under her wing for a lot of the day. Saint Maddy gives
us hope.
I won’t belabor this anymore – I’m sure you get the
picture. At the time of writing this entry, we are almost a month and a
half in and we now have a routine that works. It’s not perfect, but it’s
getting better every day and AB seems to finally be getting some benefit from
the torture we’ve put her through. In fact, just this morning, she
marched straight to her classroom and waved goodbye; excited to start her
school day. Something is finally working!
Prior to today, each day at 8:45 we would take her to the
swings in the play area. I usually ask her how many times she wants me to
push her before I go to work. The answer is usually an emphatic
“five!” After clarifying…every day…she means five minutes. Then we
figure out who from the school gets to take over for Mom and Dad. This is
invariably Saritha. It used to be Maddy, but Maddy was gone for a week
when her grandmother died. Saritha must have been #2 on the depth
chart. Luckily, the swing has magical powers which makes AB more
comfortable than in our arms and she actually lets a few other helpers take
over the pushing duties when Saritha is busy. She’s also made a
connection with Raghu the security guard, who is one of her favorites. He
“steals” her snacks from her every day. “He’s a silly boy.”
The kids start off with some songs, then move on to
breakfast and some combination of “work”, play, discussion/lessons, quiet time,
etc. throughout the day. At 2:30 most of the kids are done with school
for the day. AB then goes to the “empty school” for a few more hours
before we pick her up around 5:30. “Empty school” is the post-school
daycare where there are a lot fewer kids…along with a lot less chaos.
Through school, AB has gotten exposure to both Hindi and
Telugu. Hindi is spoken throughout most of India, but Telugu is spoken
almost strictly in Telangana (Hyderabad’s state). Most of the kids and
helpers speak one of the two languages, so she has been successfully immersed
into two more languages. She also gets music classes that include
traditional Telugu songs. This is where her multilingual songs in the car
come from. It’s amazing how sponge-like kids’ brains are.
She has also learned some Bollywood style dances in her
dance classes. This is truly a sight to see. And AB will now ask us
to dance with her because of it. We literally drop everything when she
asks – it’s impossible not to. And as I write this I can tell you with
certainty that dancing with her on her wedding day might be the hardest thing I
ever do. Good thing it won’t happen for another 47 years.
She’s still experiencing some occasional growing pains
with school…and we’re sure coming back after Christmas will be another tough
adjustment…but we really are seeing the benefits of this experience for
her. As I’ve noted before, kids tend to be pretty resilient, and AB is a
prime example.
But in the end, she comes home to two parents that (try
to) drop everything else from the day to simply be present with and for her a
few hours before bedtime. That’s my favorite part of the day.
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