Firsts

Here is Kendra ready to go off on her first day of 'real' school. Two years ago, Katrina did the same thing - but with almost no French, Arabic or cursive background. That year was very, very painful and hard. Kendra, however, having come to Morocco at a younger age and therefore having been exposed to all of the above, has breezed through the first weeks of school. She's speaking French with ease and volunteering in class. She's comfortable with her teacher (who used to be Katrina's) and I can't even compare this year with Katrina's first year. What a relief!

Another huge relief is that Katrina's brand new teacher is NOT a screamer. Now this might sound strange to you, but most of the French teachers here scream at the kids a lot. But not Mdme. Anne. She is sweet and gentle. Katrina said once, "She even talks to kids quietly when they are in trouble!" What a concept! Although Katrina is jealous that Kendra has her beloved teacher now, this is the smoothest transition to something new that Katrina has EVER had - yipee!!! She is doing great in French and we are proud of her!

After school started, Kendra lost her two top teeth and learned how to tie her shoes all within three days! We've challenged her to say "Six sick sheep" but so far, it just doesn't come out right! She seems to loose teeth in pairs, so the tooth fairy has been busy. Katrina, mourning the fact that she hasn't lost any teeth for a while, thought she would take advantage of the frequent tooth fairy visits. She left a note under her pillow asking the tooth fairy to please change her coins into a 20 DH bill because she wants more paper money for her plastic Hello Kitty wallet. The tooth fairy was not impressed because the amount of change did not equal 20 DH and because you can only have a visit from said fairy if you have actually lost a tooth.

It kind of reminds me of when one of my brothers put a cow tooth under his pillow hoping for more money since it was bigger than his. The tooth fairy was not happy.

When Moroccans lose a tooth, some of them throw it towards the sunset and call out, "Take this donkey and bring me a gazelle!" (Take this ugly tooth and bring me a beautiful one!)

The French do not have a tooth fairy. They have a tooth mouse. I don't know, but personally, I would rather have a fairy under my pillow than a rodent, wouldn't you?