School time!

First, in response to Laura's question, yes, we went to see Harry Potter 7.2. It premiered here the same weekend as it did in the U.S. Strangely enough, we might have been able to see it before y'all in the states: they had a "pre-premiere" on Wednesday night and then showings all day Thursday and Friday. The theater was a bit mad, we got there an hour early (even after they had had at least 12 showings in the same mall) to stand in line, and then had to rush to find seats. It was a bit reminiscent of the Beanie Baby days when we would stand outside of Hallmark with mom and then rush in to grab one of each kind... In any case, I agree with the many fb'ers who deemed it cathartic. I had a few complaints, but was moved to tears more than once and enjoyed the experience overall. I also enjoyed Daniel Radcliffe's interview on the Daily Show; if you haven't seen it you should look it up.

So we said a few times (to ourselves and also to dad) that today we are going to register April for school. We finally got it done on Monday. She had a nice interview with the principal who was super understanding, spoke slowly, and only asked easy questions. A few lucky things happened: #1, it turns out that the school is actually co-ed and April gets to have boy classmates! #2, they only made us pay half of the matriculation fee because she is only going to be here for half of the year. #3, the secretary that we were working with has a daughter in the same class as April. She gave us her daughter's number and we arranged a time to go uniform shopping.

Today was our arranged shopping date. When we met at the school, the secretary had a few used uniform pieces for April to try, enabling us to acquire two skirts, two coats and a parka for half price. The daughter, Cony, was a really awesome kid, she walked us to the uniform store and was a huge help. Neither of the Rasmussen sisters have ever gone to a school where uniforms are required, and it took a while for us to wrap our heads around the rules. There are two types of shirts that are exactly the same kind of cut, but of different fabrics. The "sport" shirts are only allowed during P.E., which is only once a week and you are required to change shirts after. The exception is during the winter when the students are allowed to wear sport clothes because of the cold; Cony also conceded that they probably wouldn't say anything to April since she's only here for a short time and shouldn't have to buy a ton of clothes. For bottoms during P.E. you can either wear loose shorts that work with or without leggings or tight shorts that don't work with leggings. The tight shorts are more versatile because you can (and are basically required to) wear them under a skirt or sports pants, but Cony doesn't like to wear them in P.E. because she feels like they show too much. The sports pants for some reason are not allowed in P.E. During the winter, most of the girls wear the sports pants with layers underneath, but we decided to only get one pair of pants, so Cony suggested we also invest in thick pantyhose and long socks in case the pants are ever dirty. The more-formal-fabric shirts come in long- or short-sleeves, but Cony said she only owns short sleeves: if it's super cold she will wear a non-uniform shirt underneath with the uniform coat over everything so no one sees the non-regulation clothing. Of the two used coats, one is exclusively for P.E. and the other can be used for P.E. or every day use. All the students are required to have white shoes for P.E. and black "school" shoes for every day. I'm going to lend April my white Pumas, but we have to go to a magical school shoes store to get those. I hope the friendly readers are just as confused as I was. All of this explanation was happening in a Spanish whirlwind around April as she was trying to find the correct sizes of everthing in the changing room; I think it was a bit overwhelming. In the end, I think we figured out all of the things we need and April is just about ready for the first day of school next Monday. Cony even offerred to sit next to her in class. :)

We were starved by the time we got back to Maria's, and shortly after we arrived we all ate a cazuela together. Cazuela is a typical Chilean dish for the cold months. It is like a chicken soup for lazy cooks; I once heard that in Japanese cuisine all of the prepared food should be bite-size, but this seems to have to opposite objective. In a big bowl of broth one usually finds a whole potato and an entire chicken thigh, Maria's version has shredded carrot, a hunk of sweet zuchinni, and rice; I've also seen it with whole chunks of corn on the cob. It's a novelty to cut your soup as you're eating it, but I really shouldn't say that cookers of cazuela are lazy chefs, Maria's is really delicious and my chicken soup, even with the chicken pre-cut, never tastes so good. April left the table after tea to hibernate for a while and Maria and I were left talking. She's a really, really great mother figure, and we talked a lot about our lives, sharing details that allowed us to understand each other just a little better. Again, I have to say that April and I are very lucky. In Chile we have found wonderful friends and an excellent family community.

P.S. Oh my goodness, I almost forgot. The sport that April's school offers for girls is competitive cheerleading. I think she should do it: it would be a memorable experience and she could make friends. If you talk to her, you should try to convince her.