Wednesday, February 4, 2015

OOH LA LA...part one

On the Mysti Scale of Bad Days....yesterday was a 2!  Meaning that there certainly things that qualify as bad day fodder, but compared to typical bad days....yesterday was gravy!  My car has to go back to the shop though.....

*****

So, I have had a little secret for a few months....5 months to be exact.

No....I am not pregnant.  That ship sailed a LONG time ago.

******

We found out during the last week in August that we were moving.  And the first week in September, Sassy came home and said "Can I go to Quebec with my French class?"

Say what???

This is the 6th time the teacher has done this trip.  She had been doing it yearly, but has decided to do it every other year after this trip.  After seeing the amount of work this woman has put in...I am surprised she hadn't come to this decision sooner.  She obviously LOVES these kids...there is no other reason she would torture herself take on all of the work.


I went to the informational session, and wow...what an amazing opportunity. The trip is for 4 days, 3 nights.  It is through an educational tour group, so all the activities are planned out.  Their itinerary is FULL. They are staying in a lovely hotel (4 kids to a room).  They will be visiting an ice hotel, going snow tubing and dog sledding.  They are going to a copper mine and a maple sugar shack (with a dance party after!).  They are going to the mall (where it is predominately French speaking).  And more.

We told Sassy we didn't know what would happen with the move, so we couldn't guarantee she could go.  She was ok with this.  The travel insurance that was offered (optional) would allow us to get a full refund if we moved before the trip. So....we said ok.

We are letting our child go to a foreign country without us.  *sigh*  Neither of US have been out of the country, but our 12 year old daughter is going.

Was this in the budget.....nope.  We pulled money from lots of little spots to pull it off.  Would we do it again?  ABSOLUTELY.

There will always be school trips that come up, but once we move 800 miles south....a trip to Quebec is less likely to be on the table.  And Sassy rarely asks for anything....this is a kid who is excited to get new underwear.  She has also spent her entire life being dragged to appointments for her brother (including 8 years of weekly occupational therapy.....)  We have funneled alot of our funds into medical and educational care for our son (and would do it all again....).  But that hasn't left alot for other things.  This is our way of supporting her educational care....while the trip is largely social (which she certainly can benefit from, as this isn't her strong suit)....experiencing another country, language, food....these are all things that we believe will enhance her education.

So this coming weekend....I will be putting my precious daughter on a bus with 95 other middle schoolers (yes...there are 96 kids slated to go, but if some of the recent e-mails are any indication...some of these kids may not be allowed to go because their parents haven't turned in their documentation).  Ten chaperones....96 kids.....on buses to drive to Quebec.

Back in September, we started to call her French class her "Ooh La La" class....so this is her Ooh La La trip.  I will give you the numbers and planning in another post!

****And as a side rant....as of this past Friday, 20% of the families hadn't turned in the documents needed to cross the border. The teacher has been clear about this, and has been asking for these documents since November and was due in December.  And technically, she went over all of this in September, and it was outlined on the packet we all got.  The trip is this weekend.   The message we received yesterday was all documentation was due by 3pm today...the piece that was NOT implicitly said was that if it the paperwork isn't in, then your child isn't going.  I REALLY hope they enforce this.  We all signed a contract to comply with the payment, documentation, etc.  Yeah, a parent will be rip roaring mad if their kid doesn't go....well, you had 5 months to do the paperwork.....with several reminders that were e-mailed....and calls.  Too bad...you can explain to your child that Mom and Dad didn't hold up their end of the bargain.



21 comments:

  1. Tell Sassy to have a great time on her "Ooh La La" trip! I'm in Canada, and this was the first trip I took away from my parents and sister. I still remember the trip (decades later) and my city is about 6 hours away. I'm so happy you were able to do this for her!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. We hope she creates some wonderful memories. Thanks for the support.

      Delete
  2. that's exciting for your daughter. Is she going to Quebec City then, or Montreal? Our kids did that in their Grade 7/8 trip and had a super time.

    Gill in Canada

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Quebec City. We know she is going to have a great time. I knew my CDN friends would be excited for her. Lol

      Delete
    2. Never been to Quebec City itself, it's supposed to be beautiful. Tell her to take plenty of photos and to wrap up well as it's nippy cold up here!!

      Delete
    3. Camera and lots of warm clothes are ready to go!

      Delete
  3. You made a great choice for your daughter. Don't feel bad about all the time and money for Bossy, you taught your daughter compassion for others which many adults lack. Hope she has a great time, my dd is 20 and I would worry about her going to another country too. Cheryl

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I hope she is compassionate. Based on something that happen the other night...unrelated to this....I think she is.

      I am going to worry until she is home. Doubt I am going to sleep much!

      Delete
  4. Another Canadian here! What a great opportunity for your daughter. Quebec City is beautiful and the ice hotel is really cool. You're a great mom for giving her this chance to go (and getting all her documents in on time :).

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks! I got my paperwork in during the first week of December. ;)

      Delete
  5. Quebec city is beautiful. My daughter did a trip to Montreal in grade 8 and loved it. Canada is beautiful and most Canadians friendly and laid back. Your daughter will love it no doubt.

    Our dollar is tanking lately so American money goes a long way here now :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I exchanged her money a few weeks ago and I think it was $1 usd = 1.14 cdn. Your money is so cool looking!

      Delete
    2. Yes, colourful and hard to rip :)

      Delete
    3. Oh and people say it smells like maple. I have at times had bills that definitely smelled like maple.

      Delete
  6. What an exciting trip! I remember my parents splurged for me to go to NYC with my choir my junior year. Mom joined as a chaperone. One of the best memories of high school. I'm so grateful to them!

    I haven't been out of the country either, but hopefully that will change May 2016 when I go to England (and Scotland and Amsterdam)!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Sounds like a wonderful opportunity for Sassy! I'm glad you were able to make this happen!

    ReplyDelete
  8. She will have such a great time! My first time out of the country when I was in high school totally changed my view of the world. Try not to worry too much ;)

    ReplyDelete
  9. What a wonderful opportunity for Sassy! That sounds like a great trip. I would love to go with:)

    ReplyDelete
  10. I hope she loves it. Dumb parents not to get the paperwork done. The people in Quebec city are kind to English speaking people.

    ReplyDelete
  11. She is going to have a great time in Quebec. Is she there for Carnival? That's even better. Our dollar is tanking so your exchange will be great.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Yes...they are going to a parade tonight! They should have arrived a little bit ago so I am on pins and needles waiting to hear from her.

    ReplyDelete