Sunny day

It is so beautiful here today. It's like there is a ring of clouds around the city but in the middle the sun is shining brightly. When we drove across the bridge we could see the mountains behind North and West Vancouver, with a background of clouds but illuminated by the sun with a few dark shadows on all the trees.

We took Megan in for her first real day at school -- well, her first afternoon, anyway, since it took us until about noon to get there! We dropped off her registration paperwork and so now she is an official student and can start going on her own. It took a few minutes for her to figure out what she wanted to do. The place can be pretty overwhelming not just for a new kid but for her mother too. Figuring out the registration process seems to follow the same philosophy as the learning process in this place. You enter this noisy, busy world where lots of things are going on all around you and it's up to you to figure out what you need to ask for and who to ask for it. Fortunately, people there are really friendly. Several of the adults have already learned Megan's name and recognize me as Megan's mother. Many people smile and have welcomed us to the school when they realize we are new. Slowly but surely we are going to find our way into this community.

Calum and I went to the mall to pick up the cleaning supplies we need to return our apartment to a livable state, then went back to get Megan. She had a very productive time at school, in the art room. She made a picture out of different kinds of fabric and some construction paper palm trees. I think she enjoyed finding her way around in there, figuring out where all the supplies were and making something creative. She also met a couple of boys who were impressed by her knowledge of Pokemon. I hope she doesn't mind that she can only attend for a couple of weeks before the long summer break interrupts her experience of going to school here!