Our Beautiful Janina/Nuestro hermoso Janina

Yesterday, Janina and the other exchange students made a presentation about Ecuador to the all the students of Maddie's school. Josie, me and a few of the other host Moms watched the show with the students. I learned quite a bit about Ecuador. The girls did a lovely job of showing the food, geographic regions and the different ethnic groups of Ecuador.


Janina speaks her part of the presentation./Janina su parte habla de la presentación.

Following the presentation the girls performed three traditional Ecuadorian dances. All of the students in the audience were clapping along with the music. Once the dances were done, the girls received a standing ovation!




















Sister thanks the students and host families for their hospitality./Hermana gracias a los estudiantes y familias de acogida por su hospitalidad.

In addition to this wonderful presentation, the host families gathered on Wednesday night for a Farewell dinner for the girls. During the dinner, we had the opportunity to sing "Happy Birthday" to Janina, who will turn 15 years old on Sunday. It was a lovely evening filled with laughter and family togetherness.



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Ayer, Janina y los otros estudiantes de intercambio hizo una presentación sobre el Ecuador a todos los estudiantes de la escuela de Maddie. Josie, yo y algunas de las otras madres de acogida visto el show con los estudiantes. He aprendido bastante acerca de Ecuador. Las chicas hicieron un hermoso trabajo de mostrar la comida, las regiones geográficas y los diferentes grupos étnicos de Ecuador.

Tras la presentación las chicas lograron tres bailes tradicionales ecuatorianos. Todos los estudiantes en la audiencia fueron aplaudiendo junto con la música. Una vez que los bailes se realizaron, las niñas recibió una gran ovación!

Además de esta maravillosa presentación, las familias de acogida se reunieron el miércoles por la noche para una cena de despedida para las niñas. Durante la cena, tuvimos la oportunidad de cantar "Feliz Cumpleaños" a Janina, que se convertirá de 15 años de edad el domingo. Se trata de una hermosa velada llena de risas y unión familiar.

Look at Her Go!!

Sorry to those of you who check in for the Josie fix... Today, it's all about Maddie! (There are a few photos of Josie at the end though!) Yesterday was Maddie's next to last soccer game. Maddie has played soccer since she was 5 years old. It was a lot more fun back then...

Yesterday's game was very physical and unfortunately a loss for the team (their first this season). The parents of the visiting team were particularly nasty and showed a true lack of sportsmanship. Even the visiting coach got a 'talkin' to' by the ref.

The eighth graders were given roses by the coach and all will be recognized for their efforts at an Athletics Banquet on May 15th.



The entire team has so much to be proud of... best of all, they all had FUN and enjoyed playing. That's much easier to do when you're winning, no doubt!



I was able to take a lot of photos of the game, thanks to Janina who was just so wonderful in looking after Josie while I ran around!







Tonight is the Farewell dinner for Janina and her classmates. I think I am going to cry!

A Look at the Future - A Hard Hat Tour

Yesterday we participated in a "hard hat" tour of Maddie's new High School. The entire family, including Dave & Janina, laced up boots and donned the lovely headgear to explore the site. This school is going to be AWESOME !! State-of-the-Art EVERYTHING !! It is the first High School to be built by the Archdiocese of Arlington in over 20 years.

We started out with a short introduction by Sister Mary Jordan, who will be the Principal of the new school. We were then led on a tour by the Project Manager. The school is 4 stories, with a theater, two level gymnasium, band room, chapel, 10,000 volume library, computer labs, biology labs and an interactive class room below the chapel. I am so thankful that Maddie will attend this school. Fourteen years ago, I never dreamed we would be this fortunate. I have to give proper credit and thanks to my wonderful husband who has had amazing discipline in saving for both our girls education. Because of him, both our girls will have the opportunity to benefit from everything a great education provides.

Here are some shots of our tour:


Sister Mary Jordan gives an overview in the library/ Shot of the entrance from inside the lobby



The chapel (taken from the third floor) / Fourth floor corridor


The chapel from the second floor


James & Josie explore the theater


The cafeteria - it overlooks a wooded area, the football stadium to the left and the baseball field to the right.


The gymnasium 'sky box'


The view from one of the English classrooms


A view of part of the facade/entrance of the school


Maddie and Janina LOVE the headgear !


Josie was a bit cranky, but James & Dave enjoyed the tour


Janina, Sr. Mary Jordan & Maddie at the end of the tour

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Ayer participó en un "casco" gira de nuevo Maddie's High School. La familia entera, incluida Dave & Janina, laced y botas hasta la hermosa donned sombrerería para explorar el sitio. Esta escuela va a ser AWESOME! State-of-the-art TODO! Es la primera escuela secundaria para ser construido por la Arquidiócesis de Arlington en más de 20 años.

Comenzamos con una breve introducción de la Hermana Mary Jordan, quien será el principal de la nueva escuela. Nos llevaron luego a una gira por el Gestor del Proyecto. La escuela es de 4 pisos, con un teatro, dos niveles gimnasio, salón, capilla, biblioteca de 10000 volúmenes, laboratorios de computación, laboratorios de biología y una sala de clase interactivo por debajo de la capilla. Estoy tan agradecida que Maddie asistirá a esta escuela. Catorce años atrás, yo nunca he soñado que sería esta suerte. Tengo que dar crédito adecuado y gracias a mi maravilloso esposo que ha tenido la disciplina en asombroso ahorro para nuestros educación de las niñas. Debido a él, nuestros dos niñas tendrán la oportunidad de beneficiarse de todo lo que una gran educación proporciona.

Hopscotch

Our friend, Dave, is visiting from California. Dave usually visits us this time of year and we always have fun. Today, while James was teaching Junior Achievement classes at Maddie's school, Dave & I had the opportunity to play hopscotch with Josie. There is a reason why all kids love Dave - he is always game for a game!





Here's Dave & Josie playing together - in other words, Josie telling Dave how to play !!







Once Josie was satisfied that Dave knew what he was doing, they paused to check out some of the caterpillars on the front steps:










In other news:
Janina seems to be adjusting well to being here in the U.S. She is able to chat with her parents and friends on-line every night so I think that helps with any homesickness she might be experiencing. On Tuesday, Janina and the other exchange students took a trip to Mount Vernon.

On Wednesday & Thursday, Janina was a huge help to me as I shuttled Maddie and her a few of her teammates to their soccer games. I'm pleased to report that Maddie's team won both games (5-3 and 4-0) and Maddie scored a goal in Thursday's game!! Yeah Maddie!! Go Crusaders!!



Today, the girls all met at a local mall and enjoyed an hour or two of shopping. Ecuador's currency is the US dollar, so the girls were all very savvy about their spending. Again, I just have to comment about how lovely all the girls are. They are so sweet and funny. I'm learning that language is not the only way to communicate - smiles, hugs, laughs and flying hand gestures seem to get all our thoughts across that barrier!

We are really enjoying our time with a full house of friends!

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Para la familia de Janina: ¡Gracias mucho por su email! ¡Amamos verdad a su hija! ¡Ella es una señora joven maravillosa!

Janina parece estar ajustando bien a está aquí en los EEUU. Ella puede charlar con sus padres y amigos en línea cada noche tan yo pienso que eso ayuda con cualquier morriña ella quizás esté experimentando. El martes, Janina y los otros estudiantes del cambio hicieron un viaje para Montar Vernon.

El miércoles & el jueves, Janina fue una ayuda inmensa a mí como yo shuttled Maddie y ella algunos de sus compañeros de equipo a sus juegos del fútbol. ¡Soy complacido para informar que el equipo de Maddie ganó ambos juegos (5-3 y 4-0) y Maddie rayó un objetivo en el juego del jueves!! ¡Sí Maddie!! ¡Vaya a Cruzados!!

Hoy, las chicas todo encontrado en un paseo local y disfrutó de una hora o dos de compras. La moneda de Ecuador es el dólar de EEUU, así que las chicas fueron todo muy práctico acerca de su gasto. Otra vez, yo acabo de tener que comentar acerca de cuán encantadoras todas las chicas son. Ellos son tan dulces y graciosos. ¡Aprendo que ese idioma no es la única manera de comunicar - las sonrisas, los abrazos, las risas y los gestos voladores de mano parecen conseguir todos nuestros pensamientos a través de esa barrera!

Meet Janina

We are so very excited to introduce Janina to our friends & family. Janina is an exchange student from Ecuador who will be staying with us from April 21-May 9th. Janina will be traveling with 11 other classmates and two of the sisters who teach at her school in Quito.

Janina is 14 years old and has an older sister. She has been to the US before, having visited Miami, New York & Orlando. We are hoping she isn't too bored in our little town, but we have plans to show her as many sights as she can handle. I'll be posting most of our outings here, so that her parents and family back in Quito can see how she is doing.

Maddie and Josie are very excited. James, on the other hand, is just hrumphing about being even MORE outnumbered here at home. Thank God we have Carson, the other male in our household, for him to commiserate with!!!