"AWESOME!"

As a parent, sometimes you make decisions for your kids even when you do not have all the information and you're not really sure, which can be much more frightening than any earth tremours (i.e."What if I made the totally wrong decision ... and it negatively affects them? ")

That's how I felt, when it came to finding the kids a school. I found one, but it's really far from where we live, and even though it's a private school and expensive, and located in a gorgeous area at the foot of the Andes mountains, it also borders on one of Santiago's most dangerous neighborhoods, Penalolen (the site of sometimes violent territorial/land claim disputes between native Chilean communities and local landowners, a la Caledonia, ON).

Colegio Altamira is also unlike any other Santiago school - extremely progessive and "open," as they say here, because it not religion-based and it mixes boys and girls, something that's become uncommon here, and not something many Chileans approve of .

So, with all that, I did not know what to expect yesterday, when we set out on the 45-minute drive to the school. When we arrived, however, the school looked fine and clean! The other parents seemed happy to be there! The teachers were friendly and welcoming! I left Nick and Carmen there but on the drive back to the apartment I still wondered if I had done the right thing.

Thank goodness, I need not have worried.

When I picked them up at the end of the school day, I was greeted by two smiley, happy faces. Their answer to my: "So, how was it?" was an extremely enthusiastic: "AWESOME!" almost in unison. A handful of the teachers spoke some English so the two had been able to communicate somewhat. Carmen had already made a friend in her class, a little girl who also spoke some English and who'd told Carmen that: "It is really not necessary for you to go back to Canada. Stay here forever! " And Nick had felt like a king in his English Lab class, because he'd been able to get through the work assigned, in a flash.

Gosh ... did that EVER feel good .... What a relief ... Now, I can worry about other things, like hoping they do not get too attached to their new surroundings, 'cause, despite what Carmen's little friend said, it is definitely necessary for her (and us!) to go back home to Canada, when our time here is up. Definitely.

I've posted more first day of school photos here:

http://picasaweb.google.com/suzannesoto03/NickyAndCarmenSFirstDayOfChileanSchool#

And more pics and info about their school, here:

http://architecturerevived.blogspot.com/2009/08/colegio-altamira-santiago-chile.html