Jean Mariotti

A stunning Noumea day today with clear skies and blazing sun ( sorry but it's true). We met up with the kids at 7.15 ready to start school at 7.30. Lots of hugs and excited catching up and so great to see such positive students enjoying their various experiences. We heard all about what they'd eaten and what they had done over the weekend. We can safely say that the highlight for Scott was seeing 3 topless bathers at the beach!

The kids took part in various lessons including science, english, PE, french and maths. I'm pretty sure they'll appreciate the interaction and enthusiasm they receive in their own classrooms at home as well as their lovely bright classrooms.

We all had lunch again in the canteen; they were old hands at it today bouncing up to the counter with their trays. After eating we gathered outside for a chat about tomorrow's trip to city hall. There was still 40 minutes of lunchtime left, in other years the kids have been happy sitting and just talking with us but this time they couldn't wait to take off with their billets and chat to other students. We almost felt superfluous! Great to see how comfortable they seem to be in general. A couple of kids have wanted a chat over the phone with us at night on occasions but that's been no trouble and they sometimes just need to touch base with familiar people. We're proud of the way they are handling being with their billet families.

This afternoon lessons continued and the children headed off back to their billet homes. The wind has picked up tonight and we were quite in awe watching the crazy wind and kite surfers in the bay as they whizzed up and down at great speed. The weather is supposed to stay clear this week so our trip out to the lighthouse (Phare Amedee) should be fabulous.

A bientot,

Sophie, Colleen and Baz

aren't they lovely...

crab army - don't worry, they're dead - or are they??

Baz wondered if his budget would stretch to this??

I think it's 21.5 degrees