His first day of school went really well. He loved it. In fact, he said he wishes he could go to school at Hsinchu American School until he graduates from high school. I suggested that he just make the most of this school year and enjoy every minute of it while he's here. This very small private school accommodates mostly Asian kids. In fact, Christopher is probably the only Caucasian student who attends. There are six elementary students, 16 in middle school, and 34 in high school, a total of 56. Twenty-five of them are new to the school this year and two more are expected to arrive next week. They meet on the 4th floor of an existing school, Sagor Bilingual Elementary. The new students met for an orientation meeting in the morning when school first started.
One interesting change to us was that as the three in our family escorted Christopher to drop him off, there were staff members waiting to take everyone's temperature before we could walk in the door, then they squirted our hands with sanitizer.
These are his classes: Writing, 7th Grade Literature, World History, Beginning Chinese (with a one-on-one teacher because everyone else already speaks it), Algebra I, Life Science, PE, Art, Choir, and Orchestra. Everyone prepays for lunch for the entire semester and is supposed to bring their own chopsticks and water bottle to school each day. I've met six of his teachers and they are all American, so I guess that is where the "American" part of school name comes from, and Christopher is the only American student, as far as I know.
After taking Christopher to school, I dropped Kelly off at work in the Science Park, which is huge, filled with many companies.
Rainy days and Mondays always get me down. It doesn't seem to bother the motorcyclists.
I have gained such respect for these dedicated people as I see them driving to and from work in the rain with all their protective gear on, sometimes even with two or three passengers on one scooter. There really isn't room for cars for everyone, so I count my blessings for the vehicle we have to drive here.
We were so worried about this little girl riding on the back at 7:30 a.m. because she was dozing off and it seemed like her sleepiness might cause her to fall off. She looked awake here, but as we were next to her at the stoplight, her eyes were closed and her head was bobbling.
Coincidentally, I recognized her and her mom, or possibly grandmother, on the way home riding past me, so I know she made it safely to school and back.
Here is a view of the front of Christopher's new school with the track. The drop-off lane circles the school track.
This is the inside view of the school. It is actually not fully enclosed on the rooftop. There is an open structure that allows fresh air and sunlight, but it covers the whole building. Each classroom is then air conditioned--or heated, I'm assuming.
Let's hope that Christopher learns a lot and when he goes back to the States next year, he'll still be getting all A's and be in the top of his class. I just wish that he wasn't missing football this year, but that's another topic for another day.
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