Our First Coffee Experience

I finally took Scarf to a coffee shop. I was really reluctant, but it was snowing out and my nose was runny (it was pretty cold) – Scarf started to freak when I couldn’t find a tissue. He/she (haven’t ‘sexed’ Scarf yet) knows that when drip turns to dribble, I will stop at nothing to stop the flow. One would think that the giant statue of ‘frittes’ out front would have clued us in for what lay inside, but no, being the coffee addicts that we are, we could only focus on the “Cafataria” sign just above the statue’s shoulders. Like a caffeine radar, we only registered satiation for our habit. Making our way to the back of the premises, we hovered over a tepid coffee (with just ONE of those little creamers), while the fry cook sweated up a storm over those vats of boiling oil, and decided to cut the heat. So, my first coffee in Europe was spent huddled over all of 2oz of it, trying to thaw my feet and hands. This is what I hoped would comfort me, after dropping H&S off for their first day at school – their mum wasn’t going to venture far, since she didn’t have a lifeline attached to the school yet, and because she’s neurotic.

As far as schools go, this one does it well. The usual subjects, 18 students/class, funky British teachers, a kaleidoscope of kids in all shapes, sizes, colors and sounds. Picking them up after our coffeeshop experiment, a girl in H.’s class tugged on my coat and said “Hi, I’m Marin – that’s my English name. My real name is (long guttural sound) and I’m H.’s new best friend.”

The school has but one flaw – lack of parking. Set in a typical, suburban neighborhood, it’s crowded in by narrow roads and row houses. There is no parking – parents are to find one of about 15 parking spaces in and around the school, and take kids into the yard, till the bell sounds. The problem? At exactly 8:30am and at 3:30pm everyday, 300+ cars show up, vying for the coveted front door space. And at -15 celcius, they REALLY want that spot! It’s retarded, and the school has washed their hands of it. Scarf and I park a couple blocks away, and negotiate the unplowed roads and footpaths to school, praying that they release our kids in good time before frostbite immobilizes us. Scarf is put to work at these times of the day – and with gusto, he/she provides me with abundant warmth and coziness for 10 berserk minutes twice a day. And I’m so grateful.