First Day of Kindergarten

 I was pretty nervous about Hailey starting school here.  She's been so excited about it, and I was really worried she'd come home after her first day in tears.  Her school that she's going to has an English and a Spanish teacher for each grade, and two classes per grade, so one day one class is with the English teacher all day and class is done completely in English, and the next day they are with the Spanish teacher all day and class that day is completely in Spanish. They continue to switch like that.  Almost the entire student body are Spaniards though.  Hailey is the only native English speaker in her class.  There is another American her age in the school, but she is in the other class. 

Hailey's first day was with the English teacher, so I was pleasantly surprised to pick her up from school with a big smile on her face.  The highlights of her day were:  1.  The food.  She said lunch was rice with tomato sauce and chicken on the side, and it was so yummy I should try to make it sometime.  2.  They had a delicious chocolate cake after lunch for desert.  3.  It was a boy in her class's birthday, and he brought goody bags for all the kids, and so she got treats!  (Maybe I should be concerned that all the best things are things that probably wont continue to happen on a daily basis, but hey I'm taking this as a win!)

Our cute little girl in her uniform before school

My day today was a little less than stellar.  Our temporary housing is too far from the school to walk, so I'd planned to get a 30 day metro pass.  We'd tried to get one in the stations but we were informed we couldn't get them there.  Finally I looked it up online, and it said you could get them in the Tobacco shops.  Marcus assured me we'd figure it out Monday.  So this morning we headed to our nearby Tobacco shop.  Marcus went in and asked about the 30 day pass.  They told him they don't sell them at the shops anymore and that we should try the tourist center.  Marcus had to head to work, but made a little comment like, well I'm sure they'd speak English at the tourist center.  I have felt bad because since we've been here he's had to do a ton, just because I can't actually communicate with anyone.  He'd looked up the address on my phone on google maps, and kind of left it like well if you have some extra time you could try to swing by here.  After dropping Hailey off at school I got home with Avery and decided now was as good a time as any.  I had money to get there, but not really to get back because I figured I'd have my 30 day pass by then and wouldn't really need it.  So I pull up the google map that Marcus had looked up and get on the subway to head down there with Avery in tow.  I start following the map and realize I've passed the blinking light.  So I head back up, but their is no Tourist Center anywhere to be found.  After walking up and down this street about a million times I finally stumbled into a shop where I ask a man "donde es Plaza de Mayor numero veinte y seite?"  The man sweetly tried to give me directions in Spanish which he quickly realized I couldn't understand and then in English said, "Go left, and then straight, and then straight, and then left."  I was actually incredibly grateful he spoke to me in English because most people don't.  But after following his directions I quickly realized I was never going to find this place.  Finally I entered the address into my phone again.  Marcus Had put in Plaza mayor, 27 But you had to apparently put in Plaza De Mayor, 27 to be lead to the right place.  I finally got the right address and after walking 7 minutes in the opposite direction of where I'd been I found the tourist center.  I felt a huge amount of relief.  I walked in and went up to someone at the counter who'd motioned to me and said, "Tu habla Ingles?"  to which she replied in a very irritated tone, "Yes."  So I said I was told to come her for a 30 day metro pass.  She furrowed her eyebrows and Said "NO, we only have 7 day passes here, the Tobacco shops sell the 30 day passes."  Well the tobacco shops told me you sell the 30 day pass.  She was incredibly unhelpful and finally told me that if the tobacco shops weren't selling them to go to a bus stop and see if they have them.

 I stepped out really frustrated and annoyed and feeling rather helpless.  I called Marcus and told him, I in fact could NOT do this on my own and wasn't sure what to do at all.  I asked him to please try calling the bus station to see if they actually had these things.  I tried stopping by another tobacco shop on the way home and asking if they sold the 30 day pass, in very broken spanish, but they didn't.  They were trying to tell me to go to another Tobacco shop on another street.  Anyway, I made my way back to the metro station.  I only had a 50 Euro Bill and credit cards and some change.  I was relieved when I noticed the machines said they take 50 euro bills.  So I tried to put it in and it just spit it back out and said this bill couldn't be used on this transaction.  Then I thought OK I'll try my credit cards, I tried each of them and none of them worked, then I realized there was a blinking light on the bottom saying credit cards could only be used for purchases of 5 euros or more.  So I decided to get a 10 trip pass, still my credit cards wouldn't work.  I tried the 10 trip pass with my 50 and still it said it couldn't be used for this size of a purchase.  To say I was frustrated would be an understatement.  There was no one working the booth.  I didn't know what to do.  Especially because I doubted the people working up in the shops would break my 50 for me.  (People here have asked me for exact change sometimes when I've tried to pay for some thing that was 4 euros with a 10 euro bill, they are a little picky about it and it always makes me nervous).  Anyway I finally realized one of the coins I had was a euro, and it is only 1.50 to get to my stop.  I start scrounging up all the coins in my purse and counted them out, but I had 1.40 exactly.  I didn't know what to do.  I thought well it seems like the stops are maybe increasing by 10 cents per stop so maybe if I just get off at the stop before mine I'll have a little walk, but I'll be able to make it.  So I try that, but all the stops from this place within walking distance with me carrying a 2 year old are 1.50.  Finally I don't know what to do.  I've literally been at these machines for about 20 minutes now.  Finally a girl comes down and I can't even think what to say, but I just say "Perdon, Diez cents?"  She looks at me really confused, but a sweet man behind her pulls out a handful of change and gives me 20 cents.  I honestly couldn't even look him in the eyes without crying.  I just looked up and tears started coming down my face and I just said gracias, and tried to stop crying as I put the change in the machine to get my ticket.  I felt so dumb, but so grateful to this man, who I couldn't even look at fully for fear of balling completely. 

Anyway, finally I make it home, and Marcus calls and says he's talked to some people in the office and he knows of a place that they for sure sell them.  So I head off again with Avery...this time in her stroller, to meet him.  We walk to this station, and Marcus talks to the woman who says that they don't do it there but they do it at the next station up and to call them to make and appointment.  Marcus tries to call and it's not the right number.  They have some new number it says on the answering machine to call the 012 number.  Marcus didn't know what this meant.  To call the same number but put 012 at the end?  He tried and nothing happened.  We decided to walk to the next station and once we got up there we went in and talked to someone else who told us they also didn't do it there.  That we'd need to go to the Colon station.  They were able to tell us though that the 012 number meant to just dial 012.  Haha.  At this point it has gotten so ridiculous and I'm so mad it's become a little funny.  Are you kidding me?!

I finally head back home.  Marcus says he'll try to figure it out back at work.  I'm headed home with Avery who has fallen asleep in the stroller and about two minutes before we are home she wakes up screaming.  After I get her out of the stroller I realize she has wet the whole stroller.  Great!  I try to take the stroller apart to wash it and after about 15 minutes realize if I somehow succeed in getting it apart I will probably never get it back together.  So instead I take the stroller and some detergent into the tub and attempt to clean it this way then I try to put it back together which takes about another 20 minutes.  Avery desperately needs a nap, but because of her little cat nap in the stroller she wont go back to sleep.  Finally I give up on it.  We head back down on the metro to get Hailey from school. 

I honestly have gotten no concrete details on school.  I have no idea what to do or what to expect.  When Avery and I get there there is a line of people waiting.  So I get in the line.  Finally after waiting for about 10 minutes they start letting people into the little foyer area.  A man comes around with a microphone and asks for the child's name.  When he gets to me I say "Hailey Hintze"  his face goes red almost with fear.  He immediately turns around and walks away towards some other staff.  They talk for a second and then he softly says, "Ailey Intze"  over the microphone.  She doesn't come.  Finally after about 20 minutes he comes back, I say her name again "Hailey Hintze, ella es en Infantil tres"  hoping for some clarity.  Finally he has someone come up to me I say her name again and they say "Oh Hailey Hintze with a very harsh H noise.  Finally Hailey come down with her teacher.  This would have all been fine if Avery hadn't been so crazy this whole time.  She was freaking out crawling all over the ground and the stairs the whole time we were waiting.  Every time I'd try to pick her up to hold her she'd scream out "This hurts my privates mom!"  Awesome!  But we were finally leaving.  Worst day ever almost over...then as we are walking Avery keeps touching the most disgusting things and then putting her fingers in her mouth.  It's like there's nothing I can do to keep her from doing it.  Suddenly I realize she has stuck her had so far down her throat she's thrown up on both herself and me.  PERFECT!

We finally got on the train and got home.  Thankfully Hailey seemed genuinely in good spirits.  She may be the easiest kid in the world to live internationally with.  She is really a sweet, happy girl, and loves school.  I'm still a little nervous for tomorrow when her class will be all in Spanish, but hopefully it will keep going well for her.

I really hope I never have a day like this one again.  It wasn't he most depressing day of my life, but probably the most frustrating.  It was unbelievable!  It's incredible how many awful things happened in one day, so I'm documenting this in detail so that hopefully someday I can look back on it and laugh.

To remember better days here are some pictures we took at the park last week.  On a nice mostly frustration free day in Madrid.