Did you miss us?

As you all predicted, the blog entries are slowing down now that school is really underway. Lili is making a lot of progress and over the weekend she was shocked to learn that she actually understood what a little girl next to her has said while we were out. She has a lot of homework but she is motivated to get it done and is looking forward to really being able to break the french code! Noa claims she still doesn't understand anything. Says she has no idea what is going on in class but doesn't complain about going to school. She loves her english class (as do all the native english speakers), her teacher is a little whacky (which is a nice change of pace from the very strict french model). Both of the girls have many friends, which is really helping them keep a float. Ethan is working a lot trying to get his students enrolled in classes and settled with their host families. There have been some minor issues to deal with but Ethan explained to his students, in plain english, that he will not be the director with the easy going reputation but he will be the director that has no problem sending kids home, fast. We can only hope that once they get busy with school, they will have less time for whining (and wine-ing!). I am still working on the apartment furnishings and getting used to life in the big city...without my big car, big house and big washing machine (did I mention we have no dryer?, not that I'm complaining...). Jody, Kourosh and Ayton we here for a visit last week. I have obviously totally forgotten what it's like to have a toddler. I carefully explained to the girls that they needed to put all their small toys away, however, I neglected to move the open bag of nails, 2 screw drivers and hammer that were just sitting in the corner of the living room. Dog food was also an issue. As were all of our glasses and plates that sit on a low shelf due to the fact that I still have no cupboards in the kitchen. Eating out was also somewhat trying because most restaurants don't have high chairs. Despite all that, we had a great time with them. I'll leave you with that and save the purchasing of a phone plan ordeal til the next time!