Today started out rocky for me. We were going to The Montessori Place to meet up with Owen's classroom and go rock pooling, something we've all been really looking forward to, but before we actually got to do it, I hit a new country, foreigner wall...hard. I needed to figure out how to get buckets, extra clothing, lunches, snacks, water, sunscreen, two car seats and the three of us down to school. At first I thought I'd take the bus but then realized I wasn't an octopus and couldn't carry it all, so decided I'd call a taxi. I tried to call one, but my temporary cell phone was out of minutes...so I tried to 'top off' my minutes over the phone, but they wouldn't take my credit card (let me tell you, you will soon have a chip in your credit cards and be required to enter a pin every time you use it...they've been doing it here for a few years and when you use a card without one here, they are generally clueless on how to 'swipe' your card...but one complaint at a time, right?), so then I try get online to order a cab online and our temporary internet won't let me in. I fought back some tears and somehow carried all our goods up to the local 'One Stop' a couple of blocks away. Eventually, I ended up topping up my minutes, getting a cab and getting all of us successfully to school on time. It all worked out in the end and always does, but I can tell you I really was missing my iPhone and my minivan this morning.
With the yuck behind us, we were welcomed at school again with lots of excitement and eagerness to share nets and cookies and all sorts of fun. We made our way to Ovingdean Beach and spent a beautiful, hot, sunny day exploring the rock pools. Walter even went swimming! It was great to see the boys both connect with the children and Owen's future classmates. Owen was particularly fond of all of the anemones that he found and loved touching them.
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