September 4, 2011
The kids have had their first three days of school at Institute International du Lancy (hereinafter referred to as IIL). It has been, as we expected, something of a mixed bag. I’ll begin with the location. The school is less than a mile from our house – outstanding. Our plan was to have the kids walk or bike. Naturally, they want to bike. This is great, because in Geneva, bikes rule. On the other hand, the trip is not a meander down country roads or a straight shot on the Loveland Bike trail. They are biking in town, with the cars, and – in a bit of a different issue – going down and up an incredibly steep hill both ways (we’ve been unable to bike to the top, even on the lowest gear). So I don’t really feel comfortable letting them go alone, particularly the youngest one. I actually don’t mind the bike ride at the beginning and end of the day; they’d just like a little more freedom. Too bad for now, I guess.
Academically, I think they’re going to be fine (it’s a little hard to tell after only a few days, but that’s my sense after looking through some of their textbooks). Lucas and Johanna have a study hall at the end of the day every day, and there’s a teacher there to help out with homework, which is really nice. Lucas’ math book is very British – pounds and pence and the average monthly temperature in Birmingham (not Alabama). The real challenge, though, is going to be French, because we have found out that beginning French is not for beginners. In Johanna’s class, everyone has taken at least two or three years of French, and the teacher today discussed French politics – in French. I told her to hang in there this week, and if it doesn’t get better, we’ll do something. I’m not quite sure what, but if anyone can climb that mountain, Johanna can. She’s very determined! Luc doesn’t seem worried. He says that his teacher is helping him, and taught him to say, “Je ne comprend pas,” if he doesn’t understand. Drew actually ended up in a true beginners class – with the two other students in his grade who truly don’t know the language. This is good, because the rest of his academic schedule is pretty mind-boggling; he has physics, chemistry, biology, math, two English classes, French, Spanish, history, geography, and a few others I can’t remember.
So that leaves the people. The kids seem to really like their teachers and think they are both good academically and good at keeping order, although after Mars Hill, the school seems pretty loose to them (it does have the reputation of being the strictest in town – one of the draws for me J). The first words out of Johanna’s mouth when I picked them up on Day 1 were, “My friend Lailly . . . . “ And when I said, “Oh, you have a friend?” She said, “Oh Mom, I have so many friends!” Lucas seems to be fitting right in as well. He even said that two of his friends are church-goers, which is encouraging. Drew hasn’t clicked with anyone in particular yet – and he’s a few-close-friends kind of guy, unlike his siblings -- but he has people to eat with and hang out with at recess. Our great prayer is for a Christian friend for each of them. We’ve also been talking about following the example of Daniel in a strange land. He learned all about his new country, blessed the people there, and knew what to accept and when to stand strong against the culture. We want to be Daniels here!
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