Okay, so don’t be alarmed if this entry in the travel journal sounds a little like an excerpt from a spy story; there will be a furtive stakeout, spying, intense planning, and an escape plan. Just so you don’t worry or fret, I will let you know from the outset that we are all okay. I don’t want the reading of the travel journal to be stressful for you in any way. It should be a pleasant reading experience, one in which you imagine having a mid-morning coffee with toast as you look out wistfully at the ubiquitous orange trees wondering why no one steals the oranges. Or maybe you imagine having an afternoon beer under said orange trees--they really are ubiquitous--and wonder if oranges ever fall on the heads of people peacefully having a small beer in the afternoon.
Anyway, our story begins with Maya waking up with a feeling of dread on monday morning...you see how I am gently foreshadowing here...she also woke up with a lingering cold. Maya’s dread, however, had nothing to do with her health. Instead, she was about to embark on her first foray in public wearing a skirt. You think I am overplaying the emotions in my story, but I assure you, gentle reader, that I am not. Maya was resigned to wear the skirt. I think she has a little of the, “Oh well, I guess I am this far in already, what can I do about it now?” However, the big issue for Maya was whether or not she had the uniform days right. You see, on PE days the girls wear the tracksuit uniform and on non-PE days they wear skirts, polos and sweaters. Maya was pretty sure that Monday was a skirt and sweater day, but it’s hard to be sure when you don’t speak the language very well and one of your greatest fears is asking someone you don’t know a question, even in English. But, Maya had a plan...see, the spy part is coming.
We left the house early, so that we could go to the small bar/cafe across the road from Maya’s school. Maya gets a fresh squeezed orange juice...not from stolen oranges off the local trees...on most mornings before school. On this morning, Maya insisted on sitting next to the window where she had a clear view of the crosswalk so she could see what other kids in her class were wearing. This is not as simple as it seems because different classes have different PE days, so one would need to identify the correct students. I suggested to Maya that it didn’t really matter if she got it wrong on one day; no one would care if she had the wrong uniform on for one day. “WRONG!” said Maya, “I am not going to school if they are all in the track suit and i am the only one in a skirt. I am going home...gonna say I thought it was Sunday.” I thought she would buckle, but I was beginning to hope that she was right about the uniform day. Not sure I would be able to force her to go to school in a skirt when no one else was in one. As a side note here - Maya looks great in her uniform.
Anyway, Maya said she thought she saw someone in her class wearing the skirt, but she wasn’t sure. The bar is on the other side of a parking lot, so it is not the perfect stakeout, but the orange juice is good. Maya declared her plan: “We will head toward school, and if we see girls from my class in pants, we will run away!” I am not kidding; she was ready to run. Fortunately, we saw girls from her class in skirts and sweaters, and they were delighted to see Maya in her uniform. I probably suggested her that no one would notice her or care, but I was wrong. They all asked her how she liked the uniform...Maya said, “Not so much,” and at least one of her classmates said that she really doesn’t like the uniform either. In the end, I think the day went well. Beth says that her trip is complete now that she has seen Maya in her school uniform. I think Maya misses her “no shoes feral look” from the Peninsula school, but she is tolerating this experience pretty well.
