Settling in - weeks 2.5 and 3

Sorry about the blogging downtime - we have been having some logistical problems due to I-net issues (signal we were "borrowing" diappeared and took some time for us to get some legit form of I-net). All is good now, though.


We're now ending our 2nd full week in San Sebastian and we can honestly say that a routine has started. The girls finished their first full week of school (note the unis) and are liking it - Kelsey has made some good friends and Audrey is playing the "meet and greet game" which she excels at.










They are attending an all-girls, private Catholic school that teaches in Spanish, English and Basque (Eskibel - http://www.eskibel.com/index.asp). We are in the process of phasing out the Basque portion of the classes. We take them to meet their bus @ 8:30 and meet them again after school @ 5 (note the whips that they ride to and from school - probably why the tuition is upwards of 500 Euros/mo for the two of them - worth it though). They eat lunch @ school and have a couple of recesses - totals about 2 hrs of down time which helps with the longer school day. So far their favorite classes are, obviously, the ones taught in English but that will change.

Dan started "feeding the fertile minds" at Tecnun (http://www.tecnun.es/) this past Thursday and has taught two classes now (class meets Thurs/Fri from 9-10:30 - feel free to tell him what you think about this demanding schedule). He is teaching a "structural health monitoring" class to the equivalent of senior engineering students. The class deals with determining how buildings and bridges are behaving and making informed decisions about whether to repair/replace them (basically an overeducated way of saying he is teaching whatever he feels like). Dan is going to his on-campus office for a reasonable amount of time everyday to prepare notes and hang with the hombres there (other faculty and graduate students - he is drinking ALOT of coffee with them).

Cindy is holding down the fort and exploring San Sebastian. She is taking "power walks" along the beach most mornings and enjoying the relaxing time. She is also keeping close track of what Dan says in Spanglish so the family does not get deported.

When we are not doing our weekly gig we all are continuing to head to the beach - one goal is to go there every day that we are here, regardless of the weather (its been great so far - mid-60s to mid-70s and sunny - locals are telling us to brace for the rain, though). The girls love to visit a playground in the sand that is quite close to our apartment - has many exciting things to play on that would not meet legal standards of safety in the U.S., like the death-defying spinning stand on wheel doohickey shown here (the girl in the red dress is Ana - daughter of the faculty member at Tecnun that helped Dan with the sabbatical - she is a good bud of Audrey's and goes to Eskibel).

So far, so good. We'll keep you informed about our adventures. Hope everyone in the States is doing well. We miss you one and all.