Could this really be my child? The blonde American girl who is not even three years old and barely knows three words in Romanian? Begging to stay longer? I thought half a day would be more than enough.
As Sara scrambled up the slide's ladder, pushing her way between two kids who clearly thought she was taking too long (Romanian kids tend to be more aggressive than Americans), I doubted my eyes. Perhaps the teachers will tell me the truth, I thought. Surely Sara's first day in Romanian preschool didn't go this well!
"Well, she cried for a few minutes when you left, but then she danced and sang and played with the rest of them," Sara's main teacher, Doamna Florentina, related with lots of hand gestures. Doamna Florentina is a lifelong preschool teaching veteran. And, praise God, she is also smitten with Sara. "She will be fine," she added, dissipating the fear in my eyes.
So much for Day One.
Yet here, at the conclusion of Day Seven, I remain in awe every time I pick up Sara. There have been and will be incidents of culture and language tension, of course. For example, last week the teacher called me to say that Sara was crying and needed to be picked up early. Jessica ended up going and found out that Sara could not find a straw for her juice box. Although she asked the teachers repeatedly in English, no one there could figure out the problem, and Sara became upset. Once Jessica explained this to the teachers, they responded, "Well, makes sense that she would cry." Then they handed Sara a straw and the crying stopped.
It is a learning experience for us all. Every afternoon, though, Sara is playing with other little girls and having a wonderful time.
I'll never forget her summary of that first day. "What did you think of your first day of school?" I asked.
Jumping up and down for emphasis, Sara yelled, "Best school ever!"
