New school, more exploring, the circus, and another carousel

Week 2 in Geneva began with Sam's first day at school/ with the nanny, and Aaron's first day at work. Here is the all important 'first day of school" photo of Sam. It was all very exciting, although it didn't go that well.

I walked Sam to school and we went in together. We had done a little tour earlier in the week to check it out so it wasn't completely new. Sam started playing with the toys so I said goodbye and left. I went to work with the idea that I could catch up on some emails before I went back to pick him up and take him to the Nanny's. However, I got a call at 10:15 that

I should come and get him because he wouldn't stop crying. and indeed, he was rather distraught when I got there. Poor little guy.

We went home, then around noon walked across the street to the nanny's place. I hadn't yet met the nanny although i had met the parents of the kids she watches, 4 yr old Valentine and 20 month old Raphael. I immediately liked the Nanny, a very warm Nicaraguan who speaks Spanish and French (with a thick Spanish accent). I joined them for lunch (where I learned that lunches in Europe are considerably more involved than ours back home) and then put Sam down for his nap with the promise that I would pick him up after work. The afternoon went better (probably due to the attention of Tania) and I didn't get a call. Went back to pick up Sam at around 4:30, he was very happy to see me, and we went home. Th

e rest of the week progressed much the same, Sam in tears and clinging in the mornings (he is at pre-school on Monday and Friday mornings, and Tuesday afternoons), but we didn't

get any more calls to pick him up early and by Wednesday I was at work full time.

I am happy to say that three weeks in, Sam no longer cries when we drop him off at either places, and he actually happily runs into school. This is a major relief. I"m sure part of his distress was that noone spoke to him in English. We are already getting reports that he is starting to use French, "viens", "au revoir", "merci" etc. He can count to 10 in French. WE also get reports that he doesn't do very well when it is time to sit quietly for story time at school, but apparently he isn't out of the range of normal for a 2

yr old boy. Preparing 2 course meals to take to the nanny's on Tues and Thurs is something new for us - a couple who had a hard time preparing our lunch to take to work, particularly as grocery stores are generally closed by6 pm. We have simply had to get organized and plan menus in advance. Finding ingredients we are used to is also a challenge (spent 20 minutes looking for worscestershire sauce) but we are getting there with the help of our neighbour Julie (ok! pre-made pie shells are in the fridge section, not the frozen section) but so far so good.

Sam is now into playdough - here is his first creation, a helicopter

(of course...)

with wings like an airplane. Sorry, had to share.

The next weekend was as jam-packed as the first. Earlier in the week we had purchased tickets for the Knie Circus, which comes to Geneva annually. We drove to work and took local transport from there (so quick and efficient - Ottawa and Toronto pubic transportation pale in comparison). We weren't sure if Sam would sit through it, but in the end it was perfect. Although he didn't get the French, there were so many acts involving animals (cats and dogs doing tricks, horses running around, elephants, llamas jumping over camels) mixed in with the people acts (contortionists, acrobats, tightrope walker etc) that he was rivet

ed for most of it, even AFTER eating an entire stick of cotton candy (ok - he had help from mom). We really enjoyed and were glad that we did it.

On Sunday we head to a part of Geneva called Carouge. Given as a gift to the King of Sardinia back in the day (way back) it looks like, well, a Sardinian town. It was quite cute - we really liked it and it had great shopping but unfortunately (or fortunate

ly) we were there on a Sunday. On this particular Sunday was the annual Carouge festival with artisans, food and parks for kids. The artisans were disappointing - same stuff you would find in the Ottawa market - sweaters from peru, the usual stuff from Africa etc. etc. No local artists. The food was also ho-hum (we are learning this is the case for most food in Switzerland), but the kids park was great for Sam. There was a carousel (surprise surprise). Unfortunately, Sam got stuck with riding the duck this time but he still seemed to have fun. There were pony rides and there was a midway. More rides for Sam. His favorite was the giant slide - mine too.

Clearly, a great thing about Geneva is there is tons for kids to do...and there is always entertainment for kids at every event. Apart from the food and the amazing company (miss you guys), the Carouge festival could teach the Ottawa greekfest a thing or two!