CIT for Graham and Chandler

Not surprisingly, the boys have made the transition to Cultural Integration Training better than both David and I. They became fast friends with Hank, who lives downstairs from us, (his family will be going to Thailand). Hank is the only other person in their CIT class. Hank and Chandler are like two peas in a pod personality-wise, but Hank is also an artist, so he and Graham share that interest.

Graham and Chan both seem to be enjoying their classes and inform us that they are learning the exact same stuff that we are, only at their level. So far for homework, they have made Travel posters for their place of destination, had to research the answers to questions about everything from dress to food to school systems in France, and memorized Joshua 1:8-9.

In class they have cooked international food (Indian Fry Bread and Fried Rice) and they are making samples of French architecture out of clay: Chan is sculpting the Arch d'Triumph and Graham is sculpting Notre Dame. They put in long days and have good spirits in spite of the heat and humidity.

I love watching them interact with the other adult students, particularly the singles, most of whom are right out of college. Last weekend our classmates had a birthday party for one of the single guys, and the boys and I taught four young adults to play Scum. It was fun to watch my kids play with the "big kids" and be interactive, funny, and engaging.

Their favorite recreational activity is swimming which we do practically every day. Graham is also enjoying working out in the weight room with David. We have no TV in our room, which is no problem since we never watch TV. Our Wii is hooked up in a community room in our building (which does have a T.V.), and all the kids in our unit enjoy playing it. Graham and Chan seem to be very comfortable with community living--they are at ease in social settings, and yet totally able to retreat to our own little room to recharge and get some time alone.

I am continually amazed and blessed by my boys in this journey. Yesterday I ate lunch with their CIT teacher and she said, "They are ready to go!" How incredible is that? How is it possible that 2 kids from Spangle, WA are ready to move to France? Only by God's grace!

Each day after class, the boys stop by our classroom to see the Gumby creation of the day. Today, it was not me, but David, who designed a bicycle for Gumby. Very French, indeed!

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