What was the week before the 1st day of school
like for you? Was it a lot of last minute packing, saying good-byes, and
getting on planes? Did you have to sit in church on Sunday morning with your
parents and realize that they would be leaving right after lunch to go “home”
and you would be living in a dorm?
Maybe you had been working hard for over a year to be able
to pass the English language test, so that you could attend an international
school. Then you got to your classroom and realize how hard it is to keep up with everything in English.
Or maybe you were just excited to see friends and teachers that you had
missed for two months while they traveled to other parts of the world.
I can’t imagine what it must be like for each student at
Grace International School, but I do know that many are leaving parents for the
first time to live in a dorm, leaving their home country for the first time, or going to a school for the first time. Other students have been at Grace their whole lives and have been the ones that have watched friends come and go.
Some students this year will not be going to Grace, because they are on home assignment in their home country. That means all those emotions and adjustments will still happen, just not at Grace. Most of these students don't really know what country is their "home" country.
Think about this as you or your kids start school this week...what kind of emotions/fears/excitement do the kids in your/their class have- these emotions and situations I have described don't just happen at international schools!
