Vrtić!

Eleanor started vrtić , or Bosnian kindergarten (the Bosnian word for garden is vrt).

Kindergartens are part of a completely different bureaucratic system than the school system and are housed in the same buildings as preschools. But we are standing by our position that the vrtić for 5 year olds is nothing at all like preschool, a position we hold for the sake of our poor five year old who told us last week that she has been waiting her entire life to start kindergarten.

She can attend kindergarten from 7:30-5:00 (!), or any part of that we choose, but the instructional hours are 10:00-12:00. Today in class they drew pictures, and she believes that all the other girls in the class copied her drawing because they so admired it. She also reported that the teacher said her drawing was "lijepa" (beautiful)--the first sign that she's understanding anything at all that people are saying to her in Bosnian!

She was thrilled after recess to be served lunch (soup, bread, macaroni and cheese, and water) at a set table with real dishes.

Her verdict (just like Isaac's): "It was great!"