Pooks Canyon

In Barcelona children go to school from 9:30 to 5:00. At first I thought this was just Axel's school but one look at the 9:15 metro and sidewalks tells me that this is the schedule for most schools: the young people in Barcelona have backpacks on and are going places. The schoolchild, in his native habitat, reticent for Mom to be taking photos. Lunch at Axel's school is from 12:00-2:00, where they have a multi-course meal with dining etiquette and decorum strictly enforced. It brings to mind that time in Belgium when a 10 year-old Leah attempted to eat a french fry with her hand and had said hand lightly smacked (though I can report that, despite strict treatment, she did like those lunches).  Let's just say Axel is dining with a knife and fork at lunchtime these days. After the leisurely meal Axel can choose to participate in a variety of activities.  Afterall, they do have 2 whole hours. Yoga, Drums, Violin, Cinematography, Coding/Robotics/Drones are all on tap...

Axel has really settled into school.  While he says he is not learning Spanish, it only feels that way.  At the store the other day I was trying to tell the cashier I had brought my own bag and Axel rolled his eyes and said, "Mom, just say 'Yo tengo una bolsa' "  And so he was caught knowing nouns, assigning proper genders to said nouns, and conjugating verbs.  Ha. He's doing so well he received a certificate of achievement stamped by the governor of the state of Baja California Sur. His friends.  The girl with the pink purse is Axel's girlfriend, Janine.  He said he likes her hair. Axel got invited to a birthday party!  When we lived in Brugge, Belgium Leah went to a Flemish school and was invited to a party.  This is a great way to experience another culture.  Leah's party, for instance, was for a 9 year old.  It was held from 7pm to 10pm on a Friday night.  When we arrived the lights were low, the music was bum...

Monday started our first work-week in La Paz. The Internet connection in good, the food is great, and the January weather is amazing.  We do a lot of going out and about, trying our poor Spanish on the very friendly people of this fine town.  At the purificado (place to refill water bottles) I wanted to purchase a second bottle and it took a lot of pantomiming to confirm.  At one point the guy looked at Axel and said, "Help me out here."  Young people in La Paz are very much bilingual. At lunchtime Monday I took Axel to enroll in a local school: Instituto Bicultural Juan de Ugarte.  He started on Tuesday and reports that he is very happy there.   The whole upstairs is devoted to English and students begin learning it at a young age.  By fifth grade they all speak English fairly well. Tonight, when I asked him about school, Axel smiled and blushed, saying that the girls in his class are teaching him Spanish words then quizzing him through...