Our Arrival and the First Day of School

 We touched down around 12:30pm on Tuesday, August 6, and boy were we ready to be here! We had no idea what to expect once we got off the plane, but we definitely did not expect the welcoming committee we received! Several of the teachers came to the airport with signs and smiles to greet us. The CSM greeted us by name, and our sponsor family helped navigate what to do with our luggage and next steps. We got our K badges (which say school principle instead of principal...but oh well) and the customs officer even let Johnny stamp his own passport.

After the drug dogs were finished searching our luggage, we put them on a shuttle en route to our home. We then loaded up on a golf cart with our sponsor family and took a whirlwind tour of the island on the way to our home. Once there, we found that they had unpacked our welcome kit and added a few personal touches so that our house would be move-in ready. They also stocked our fridge and pantry with essentials to get us through our first several days. The generosity and kindness of everyone on island still blows me away!

Jerrod had a meet and greet with his staff at 2pm, so I was at home with the kiddos trying to get situated...which resulted in the first official meltdown. The kids were exhausted after two days of travel, I couldn't get the WiFi to connect, so they only had the couple of DVDs they brought with them to watch, and there was no way to contact their Daddy, so I didn't want to leave the house not knowing when he would be home. To top it off, they asked countless questions which I couldn't answer and we had overlooked the fact that one of Johnny's medications had not been refilled... so all three of us were in tears by the time Jerrod got home.

Jerrod returned home from his meet and greet just in time for us to go back to the school for supply drop off! We loaded up the supplies in bags and made the trek back to the school on foot as the kids were not ready to ride a bike without training wheels yet. We met teachers, picked desks, made some friends, and then went back home to attempt the WiFi connection again. After contacting IT we learned that the router we brought would not work and would have to wait until the next day to get everything up and running.

Our sponsor family had us over for a delicious taco Tuesday welcome dinner and then took us to get some essentials at the Express (similar to Walgreens). Bedtime came early and easily, but none of us slept through the night or got a decent amount of sleep thanks to nervousness, excitement, and jet lag.

The next day, I sent my first grader, second grader, and principal off for their first day as George Seitz Elementary School Dolphins. Jerrod made a great speech to teachers, students, and parents despite being on island for less than 24 hours. I fixed my first lunch as a SAHM. I got on a bicycle for the first time in 25+ years and rode "downtown" to get the correct modem and router. I got the WiFi set up ALL BY MYSELF and started the laundry and unpacking process.

We celebrated the first day of school with a trip to the beach, which resulted in a much better night's sleep for day two.

Comments

  1. Suzie and DjAugust 24, 2024 at 4:59 PM

    This made me smile! So many ups and downs and learning this new life.

    ReplyDelete
  2. shenguinAugust 28, 2024 at 9:30 PM

    I finally got caught up. Love reading them

    ReplyDelete

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