Back to School Blues (...and Greens)

We're finishing out our first week in Oaxaca today. More than just the end of our family “vacation,” the end of this week also marks the inevitable end of summer vacation and the imminent return to school. For the girls, this news is bittersweet. On the one hand, the shine of new folders and the smell of new erasers always represent the promise of a new year, giving no signs of its eventual rough edges or better-erased mistakes. This year, that promise is especially intense, as the girls will be going to Mexican schools where prep school uniforms are de rigoeur, class sizes are small, and everything is in Spanish. (We'll definitely be taking a few pictures of them in their new regalia.) On the other hand, tomorrow will be their last sleep-in morning before starting a new fall routine that includes a 6:45 a.m. entry time for Nayana and a 7:45 entry time for Ella. Early to say the least!

As for Josh and me, the beginning of the school year offers a whole new set of meanings. Sure, both of us will soon be immersed in school ourselves. Josh will be studying spanish full-time at the ICO, and I'll be assuming my duties as the director for the PLU-UPS study abroad program. Nonetheless, this past week has shown us another side of the back-to-school phenomenon that was an important lesson in and of itself.

Knowing that the girls' level of Spanish would discount just about all academic progress for the first few months, we went in search of schools that would provide a good “Mexican school” cultural experience and give the girls a true immersion opportunity. We were quickly told by anybody and everybody to completely discount the Mexican public schools. Among the long list of negative qualities attributed to the public school were short school days, lots of stoppages (due to labor disputes among teacher unions and district), poor quality of instruction, poor facilities, and lots of paperwork (for foreigners seeking to take advantage of “free” state schools). “Anybody who can sends their kids to private schools in Mexico” was the resounding refrain. So, we began the long search for a private school, thinking that our biggest hurdle would be getting them in. Little did we know that for parents in Mexico, getting kids back to school means dealing not just with the kids' summertime blues, but also a lot of green!

Our first lesson started with inquiries at two oft-recommended private schools with registration fees of approximately $350 per child and monthly tuition of another $250 per child ("That'll be $1200 up front to get the girls registered, thank you." Cha-ching!). May not sound like a lot to parents of private school-goers in the U.S., but keep in mind that the minimum wage for this part of Mexico is about 55 pesos per hour (less than US $5.00 per hour). We quickly looked further and found a better option nearby, but even there the registration and monthly tuition costs were, to my mind, relatively exorbitant. And that is just where the costs begin. After getting your child registered at one of these schools, you then have to pay another US$100 per child for uniform costs, another $100 for books and probably another $50 for supplies. Enter here a sad picture of a frazzled Monica and Josh, navigating tight aisles in the hot and frantic school supply stores, asking clerks which notebooks are the ones indicated on the extensive and very precise supply list we received from the school. The girls, in tow, are originally excited but eventually become increasingly disillusioned as their favorite folder choices are dismissed as not meeting the specifications and , instead, the basket fills with things like a lab coat (for Nayana's biology course) and, later at the uniform store, a tie to be worn under the school vest and sweater on Mondays--”We have to wear a tie?!” Validating my rough calculations (and mirroring my horror at these outrageous educational investments), the Oaxacan local newspaper carried a story about the high back-to-school costs for parents and featured one mother of two who had to take out annual loans to pay for the roughly $500 she anticipated paying to get her kids outfitted for school. Again, many of you may be thinking that parents in the U.S. easily pay double that amount in back-to-school costs, especially to cover the cost of those brand name jeans or those special shoes, etc. Nonetheless, the idea that essential educational costs could be this prohibitive here was a real eye-opener. For that reason alone, those pictures of the girls in their uniforms will certainly not be priceless!

Nonetheless, we head into the next week with a growing sense of familiarity, contentment, and excitement knowing that we managed to master the back-to-school obstacle course and are quickly becoming true (temporary) residents of this city that we are so enjoying. Fridays have already been dubbed “taco friday” due to the amazing taco stands that go up in the park near our house as part of the once-a-week open-air market. Josh was ready to risk all of his digestive system assimilation in order to sample those babies, and boy were they worth it. The mosquitoes are finally starting to tire of poor Ella's sweet blood. And Nayana is already having dreams that feature her winning a game show with a grand prize of a room full of Mexican sweet breads. In my case, I find myself actually not wanting to cook—gasp--because of the myriad delights out in the street to sample; it just seems a travesty to eat anything at home. So, we're clearly settling in and soon will be well-situated in these academic and culinary landscapes that promise many more new lessons,...even if they also always require a little bit of green.