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Monday, August 15, 2011

Cannonball!!

The best way to get used to the water when you are going to go swimming is to just jump right in. And, that's just what I did yesterday at the pool here at our new compound!!! ( Sorry...no pictures to show of that!!!)  But, doing a cannonball is such an exhilarating experience...I wonder why us grown-ups don't do them more often.:)

The best way to get over sleeping in and non-routine summer days is to just jump right in!  Jeremy had his first day of Kindergarten today!  I can't believe it...
Ben 10 is J's theme this year

exploring the classroom















seeing old buddies again:)
 And, just like that...we're back into our routine of early mornings, droopy eyes, bed head, pop tarts and back packs. ( And an extra cup of coffee for me!)  Yep, the best way to get back into the swing of things is to jump right on in:)

5 comments:

  1. hi meredith,
    i've really enjoyed reading your blog. we are (probably) moving to lagos next month from new jersey and i am a little overwhelmed. i started a blog about it, too: nj2nigeria.blogspot.com. anyway, we are hoping to get our 3 kids into the american or british schools. they are entering 3rd, 1st, and pre-k this fall. do you have any areas you would recommend as safe to live or convenient to commute to school? i know it is weird to ask you since we've never met but your experiences of raising 2 beautiful kids in lagos have given me hope. any other tips would be appreciated, too.
    thanks, asha s

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  2. HI Asha, The best places in Laos to live , in my opinion, are Victoria Island or Ikoyi. Both the British and American schools are on Victoria Island and Ikoyi is just over the Falomo Bridge. I know how overwhelming it feels to plan a move to Nigeria. Let me know if you have any other questions. Are you moving here for a work move? meredith

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  3. thanks so much for the suggestions! my husband got a new job in lagos so we are moving at the end of september. he is taking a quick trip out there before then and will look for apartments in victoria island and ikoyi.
    schools are tricky...we spoke with the american school today and they said we'd have to go on the waiting list. we plan to call the british school tomorrow. i am praying we find a good international school to accept our kids.
    i think i will have to get better at accepting all sorts of changes, big and small, but i find it challenging when my kids are involved. i anticipate they will struggle a lot, especially my eldest, who is 8 this fall and is old enough to understand how much we are leaving behind by moving. that's why i really, really hope their teachers are loving and understanding...i don't suppose you know of any schools ex-pats attend when they can't get into the american or british schools?
    thanks again for the tips. i really appreciate them. and i love your blog!

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  4. Hi Asha, I'm sorry to hear about the waiting lists at the schools. The truth is, ther is so much demand because there aren't many good schools here...and there are so many people who are trying to get in to AISL. I know of two other schools which expats send their children to. They are both located on Ikoyi. One is Saint Saviour's and the other is Lagos Preporatory School (LPS). Those may be alternatives to check on as well. I understand about expecting big changes...it is definitely a diferent world over here.:) Please let me know of any other questions you may have.:) m:)

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  5. i will. yes, this school situation is hard. we had initially thought we were moving to south africa for a year before nigeria and both our daughters were accepted into the american international school of joburg and we found our son a spot at an adorable preschool with no difficulty. but we are having a lot of trouble with schools in lagos. we tried the american school and the french school and there were no spots. then we tried lekki british which may have availability but my husband checked with the british consulate who said they have no affiliation...so we don't know if the school is any good and we were just assuming they were an established school based on the name...lagos prep may be able to take all 3 of them but if we live in v.i., would that be a crazy commute? i am going to tell my husband to look for an apartment for us in ikoyi when he visits next week so we can be close to school. from your blog, i know traffic is crazy and proximity is important.
    thanks again for all the advice...and for giving me hope that i can do this!

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