Sandelowsky

Two months have passed - it seems both short and long. Short in a sense of still being a 100% foreigner around here. Like having officially non-English speaking children attending the local school, not having more than one work permit in this family, just having bought a second car last weekend, just to mention some things. And long in a sense of all the new things we - especially the kids - have aldready experienced. We've done not only some great vacation trips like the one to Chicago, but also shorter outings, visited Kings Island, The Beach Water Park, The Riverboats on Ohio River, The Aquarium with the Shark Show, seen the world famous fire works in Cincinnati on Labor Day, The Cincinnati Reds baseball game, done some serious running (!), gone to some huge flea markets and tons of old car shows (I wonder why), driving around the Hillybilly land that's surrounding us in all directions.

Now the kids have started the school, which gives all of us a whole new dimension to our stay here. The school district (Lakota) is rated one of Ohio's best - and we can definitely feel it in everything: there's a special pride and spirit in these schools. They know they're good, and they expect the kids and their families to continue that tradition. They are tough, demanding, ambitious - but in some strange way they manage to do it with a lot of joy and enthusiasm which actually is pretty contagious. The key words seem to be "Always try your hardest", and the whole school staff is very professional and supporting. But it requires a great deal of support from home, too. Especially if your kids can't do all the homework by themselves, because they can't write in English. So it's a full time job for me, right now. But I've known it all along - this, besides helping Maja to grow older, is my most important job while we're here. I really want the kids to get the most of it! And we, too, get to learn a lot about the American way of living and thinking.

Speaking about it, I wonder what you guys back at home think about this: Johanna's school bus driver, who once saw Johanna walking alone the 150 meters from our door to the bus stop, wanted to see me the day after. I had a bad feeling, was this going to be another case of Child Neglecting? Well, she suggested that I'd contact the Transportation Office to get a closer bus line for Johanna. "And don't take a no for an answer!" she said, "Call the School Board if you need to!" When I asked what the problem was, she explained that Johanna could be kidnapped as I cannot see her from home. Okay... I was thinking, we're talking about 150 m from home, in a very quiet and safe neighborhood without public streets, just crossing a parking lot AND about a dozen other kids waiting for their buses at that time. I didn't say to her I thought it all was ridiculous, I just concentrated on her thoughtfulness and thanked her for her concern. And Johanna keeps on walking on her own as she desires. This morning she even fed the ducks by the pond on her way. Sometimes I just don't understand the American way of over-protecting their kids - how can one live like that, with a constant fear of practically non-excisting things? I know bad things can happen anywhere, but I'm just trying to make sense out of the reality we live in right in this neighborhood. It's a crazy world, I know, but I'm not crazy.

Some other rather peculiar observations so far: Why do the pathways end blind in the middle of a lawn? Aren't they supposed to take a person from point A to point B? And don't you just love the intersections here? I mean, you can always find SOME way to go, right?

The American prudity is another interesting thing: babies are expected to wear not only diapers but also swimsuits by the pool, school children don't change or take showers after P.E., people get all confused if you nurse in public.

And how about wearing the professional uniforms on your way to and from work: you can see THIS happen all over the places, not only in the cars, but in grocery stores, amusement parks or like here, in a Old Cars Show. I wonder what the "Hygiensjuksköterska" at SLL whould say about that... Or what I'd think if a nurse who just finished her hours went through the vegetables at Kroger's with me. Hmm... strange.

Hanging in there,

//Hanna