Today marks 2 full weeks since we left for Barcelona. It was also the first day of school. Back home it is Labor Day where everyone is enjoying the unofficial end of summer. Random thought, but could be the first labor day we have not been in the US?
Waking the kids up at 7am for school was quite difficult but somehow we got to the school on time.
I have to admit, I got chocked up when they were walking in school. Here we were in a new country, a new school and the kids were acting like it was just another normal day. I was proud of them. I was also taking in the moment. It is still hard for me to believe this is real. The only time I lived outside of NY was in college, in fact my house in Brooklyn is 5 blocks from where I grew up. Living internationally with a family of 5 is never something I anticipated as being in the cards. But here we are!
We then dropped Jonah off in his classroom which has a big glass window almost the size of the entire wall. The parents were just staring at their kids until the Dean came by and told us to go enjoy our day. While Jonah refused to draw when he sat down we saw him start by the time we left.
Outside the school we met more parents. Again, they were from all over the world. Kelli and I decided to walk home (about 30 minutes) and we stopped at a cafe to get a cortado. We got back to the apartment and relaxed. I caught up on work and Kelli started organizing for the day of errands ahead of her. I then hit the gym for the 4th time since being here.
That night, I was invited to attend a forum meeting with a group of entrepreneurs. Forum is one of the bedrocks of EO as it is a monthly meeting where you are able to go very deep and help each other with business and life. I had not been in a forum in over 5 years, but being in a new country it seemed like an important to do. The meeting lasted 4 hours and then we went out to dinner in Gracia. It was a nice mix of people, a couple of local guys and some ex-pats.
An important exercise for EO forums is the lifeline. In about 15 minutes you go through a timeline of your life and share all the significant moments including the highs and the lows. You want to get to know someone fast this is the way to do it. I was grateful to meet six other interesting and unique individuals.
By the time I got home the kids were sleeping but I was able to quietly say good night. Kel is a champ, she picked them up from their first day of school with sushi waiting for our hungry kids. They ended up taking the local bus home with a girl from Leila’s class. Not having the right bills the girl paid for Kelli and the kids. Leila’s friend then took them into the metro and showed her how buy metro tickets and of course Kel paid her back. Then Kel got the kids food from the supermarket, made dinner, and eventually put them to bed. Most importantly, they all seem to have a great first day of school!
PS. On a funny note, we forgot to tell them we paid for school lunches ( as we packed lunches in the US) so during lunch time they just figured we forgot to pack them lunch. Not wanting to take school lunches because they did not know we paid, their new friends shared with them their lunches.