La Grande Rentree

7 AM.

My mobile phone's alarm is waking me up. I have a distant feeling of awkwardness...like something big is happening today but I can't figure out what - I don't usually awake at 7 :-). Then I remember, it's my daughter's first day at The Big School. This is how we used to call it in Holland. De Grote School is when kindergartens are over and you're entering grade 1. No more arts and crafts, singing songs and playing with dolls and trucks: serious work starts here! French and Math. Reading and Writing. I don't know who was more nervous for La Grande Rentree this morning, me or my daughter.

Arriving at the parking lot the typical picture of an international school emerges: lots of big cars with drivers. many CD-plates. In Soleine's class there are twelve nationalities, from Swedish to Indonesian, 10 boys and 4 girls. The teacher is Tammy and she's great. Soleine seems cool, she sits down next to an American girl and starts coloring.. When I leave she hardly says good bye to me.

It was definitely me the most nervous....