Private and Charter and Magnet, Oh My!

David is now in his last semester of school and you may be wondering just where we're going to live once he's done. Well we're still undecided. The whole time we've been living here we have assumed that it was temporary. We still have all the boxes we moved down with in the garage so we can pack everything up again. We kept Alberta registration on our vehicles. We've bought very little furniture that will be difficult to move by the time the year is up.

It feels strange to live in a temporary situation. What's the point of making good friends when we're going to move away anyway? Why buy a new bed when we're going to have to haul it across the continent in a few months?  It can be uncomfortable, both mentally (in the case of the lack of friends) and physically (in the case of the bed). But in some ways it's also nice. Yes, there are brown widow spiders in our backyard but we'll move away soon and never have to deal with them again (my mama bear instinct makes me want to annihilate every last one of them but the pacifist in me makes me apologize profusely as I do it).

One of the main reasons that I like to think about our time here being temporary is because then I don't have to think about where Asha would go to school next year. You would not believe the tizzy that people get themselves into about schooling around here. Westchester, the area where we live, is a fairly decent area. David recently read that it has the 4th lowest crime rate in all of  L.A.! It's no Beverly Hills but it's a pretty average, middle class neighbourhood. Soon after we moved here I heard several people comment that Westchester is a nice place to live but it's a shame that the schools are so terrible. I also couldn't help but notice that all of the kids on our street go to schools elsewhere. Our next-door neighbours pretend that they live at a friend's house so they can get their kids into school in an adjacent area called El Segundo. Doesn't El Segundo sound like a place where greasy men would sell Chihuahuas out of the back of a pickup truck? Well it seems to be a pretty exclusive place.

Anyway, I had been to a family fun day at the school that Asha is now going to and it seemed like a good school! I didn't get it. Were people just super picky about schools here? Well it turns out that the public elementary and middle schools in Westchester are pretty good but the problem is with the high school. Students get bussed in to Westchester High from the inner city much to the local people's dismay. My initial reaction was that the inner city kids deserve a good education too but apparently the school has become a pretty scary place.

So for the most part people try to get their kids out of the Westchester public school system as early as possible. There is a labrynthine system that one has to tackle in order to do this. There are charter schools which are kind of part of the public school system but they don't actually have to adhere to the rules and curriculum of a public school. They seem to be more granola than your typical school. I heard one parent comment that at a charter school called Ocean Charter School they don't learn to read until 5th grade. I think she was exaggerating. Charter schools are incredibly hard to get into. Most of them have a lottery system.

Then there are private schools. They are, as expected, very expensive but our neighbours' kids got some sort of subsidy so they're not as snobby as you might think. It is pretty commonplace for kids to go to private school here. Before I moved here the only people I heard of going to private school were Prince William and a kid I knew from elementary school who was really bad (and I think his parents just wanted to get rid of him).

The other option is a magnet school. These are schools that focus on a specific academic area. There are science magnet schools, performing arts magnet schools, even business magnet schools. Apparently you need points to get into magnet schools. You get points for living near the school, having a sibling in the school, etc. But if a child has gone to one magnet school you get points for other magnet schools.

So it's enough to make a person want to homeschool! And it's very hard not to get wrapped up in it all. I just keep telling myself that I don't have to worry about it. Asha and I were recently at a birthday party and it was all the parents could talk about. Maya's on the list for Open Charter so they've got their fingers crossed. Amanda's got an in at a magnet school because her sisters both go there. Malachi's mom is interviewing for a performing arts magnet school near their house. I couldn't help but notice that while all the other kids were playing in the bouncy house and playing elaborate imaginative games, Malachi was in the corner spinning wheels on a toy train for half an hour. Well he might not go for performing arts but at least he'll get points for another magnet school! The conversation was exhausting. It was so lovely that when they asked where Asha would be going I could say "we probably won't be living here next year".

David has said that if we do stay in L.A. he wants to put Asha in a private school. My initial reaction is that it is way to elitist for me. I believe in public education. I believe that every kid has the right to a good education for free. But the truth of the matter is that the public education system in California is a giant mess. The schools are so hung up on their ratings and test score that they've lost sight of what really matters. Several teachers have recently been caught helping their students cheat in order to boost test scores. I feel like private school is a band-aid solution but do I want Asha to go to Westchester High with students that carry guns and sell drugs?

So these are some of the fun little things that I have to consider if we are to stay here in L.A. When the lady from my bootcamp class said that you either need to live in a good area (and by good she means Beverly Hills) or pay for private school she wasn't really exaggerating!

I also feel like people put a lot of pressure on kids here to do well in school. They recently decided to shift the school year so that kids finish school early in June and start up again in August. This is apparently so that kids graduating from high school have time to do more summer school so they can be competetive with kids from the East Coast in university. What is going on!? Asha has a friend who started kindergarten this year in Chinese immersion in Venice Beach. Her mom drives her 45 minutes to school, then she has a full day of school (all kindergarten is full-day here which I personally think is messed up), then 45 minutes to get home. I think that's a pretty full day for a 5 year old. Well in order help her keep up her parents have gotten her an IPad so that she can practice Chinese for an hour each evening. When I saw her recently and asked her how school was going, she said "hard".

So, here's what I'm wondering... is this a California thing? I haven't decided if this mass hysteria is warranted or everyone around here has lost their minds. Is it like this in Canada? I have this notion that in Canada you just put your kids in the school closest to your home because that's what my parents did. There are some exceptions like if you want your kid in Catholic school or French immersion but I feel like there isn't this madness in Canada. Have I idealized the way things are back home?

One quick story to wrap up this tirade... the other day at beach bootcamp the ladies were talking about how to get into a great pre-K program in El Segundo. One of the women said "whatever you do don't teach your daughter to skip". Well apparently it's a program specifically for kids who are not ready for kindergarten yet so there's some sort of reverse competency test to get in. One of the gross motor skills they test is skipping so that if a child is able the skip then they're ready for kindergarten and don't get in. Parents actually help their kids flunk the test so they can get into the program. So much for putting too much pressure on kids to succeed! I found myself thinking "yes! Asha can't skip! She'd get in for sure!" Oh no. I'm becoming one of them...

Beach Bootcamp and an Armenian Head

Man I really suck these days at keeping up my blog. I'm sorry everyone! Assuming that anyone is still out there reading this. Well I've been putting off writing this post for a while because it seemed a bit, well, rude. I was waiting for the weather back home to be less than brutal before I wrote about my adventures on the beach. Then it went down to minus 50 in Edmonton and I thought "screw it!". By the way, I am not exaggerating when I say that people can not comprehend the concept of negative temperatures. It is in small part because of the whole celsius/fahrenheit thing but mostly because they don't understand that a temperature can have a negative sign in front of it.

So, my new favourite thing about living in L.A. is a little thing called Beach Bootcamp. Yes, the "bootcamp" part may sound less than fun but doesn't everything sound better with the word "beach" in front of it? I was looking for an exercise class and I came upon a Beach Bootcamp class taught by Markus and Texas. Are those great names or what? I had images of two heavily-muscled ex-marines yelling at me to run faster. Wohoo! Well upon further investigation I found out that Texas is in fact a woman and she and Markus are married. They run a class for women where you can bring your kids and they play on the beach while you work out. Sign me up!

I showed up at the beach and saw a woman setting up for a class. I assumed this was Texas herself. I walked up to her and said "are you Texas?" to which the woman replied "is that a person?". It turns out that there are several fitness classes on the beach and the one I was looking for was a bit further down. When I finally found Markus he told me to take off my shoes and go for a run in the sand. Well, he had me at "take off your shoes". Something you must know about me is that I loathe shoes. I have worn flip-flops every single day that I have lived here. A workout where you don't wear shoes?! Sweet! Running in the sand is not so sweet but it is a fantastic workout.

I've been doing the class for two weeks now and I love it. To be honest it's not as challenging as I had hoped but it's still a pretty good workout. (As a side note... Jolene's Stroller Bootcamp in Whitecourt is the best fitness class I've ever taken. If you live in Whitecourt and have had or will ever have a baby you MUST take this class. Also, if you live anywhere near one of Alberta's recreation facilities I hope you're taking advantage of it! There is NOTHING like Whitecourt's Allan & Jean Miller Centre here!)

I am lucky enough that Asha is in school when I go to the class and David is home most mornings so Nia stays at home with him. So after my class I go down by the water and stretch and meditate. How very Californian of me! It's a great way to start my day.

So do you hate me yet? Well my bootcamp class has also been a bit of a reminder of the not-so-great things about L.A.. There was sewage spill the other day so there were signs all over the beach that you couldn't swim in the water. Apparently it happens all the time. I guess the system that manages the waste of 8 million people is bound to fail sometimes. A fellow bootcamper also told me the other day that you have to have money to live in L.A. because you either need to pay to live in a fancy area or pay for private schools because the public schools in the other areas suck. I think this is a comment on both the insane standard of living here but also the frenzy that people get into about schools in this city. But that's a whole other post...

Finally, the topic of conversation at class today was that a human head was found by a hiker near the Hollywood sign. The body (or I guess the lack thereof) had not been identified but apparently it was suspected that they were Armenian.  How exactly would they know that?! When I first moved to Whitecourt there had been a stabbing a few days before and I was horrified. What kind of place had I moved to!?

So living in L.A. is not all sand and meditation but I'm doing my best to take advantage of all the good stuff. Nothing beats the feeling of sand in my toes and sun on my face.

Oh, and one quick Asha-ism before I sign off. The other day she asked me "what's unnergah?" to which I replied "I have no idea". She said "in the pledgaleedgence?". To which I replied "I literally have no idea what you are talking about". So it turns out that they are learning the Pledge of Allegiance in school. It's a bit wierd that Asha is pledging her allegiance to a foreign flag but I guess I have to expect it if I'm going to put her in a Yankee school. So here's how her version goes:

"A pledgaleedgence to the flag. On which it stand. In invisible. Unnergah."

I figure it's OK that she's pledging her allegiance to a foreign flag because she clearly has no idea what she is saying.

The Open Road

I am writing this while sitting in a moving vehicle just outside of Beaver, Utah. Isn't the modern age crazy? So you may be wondering why I am just outside of Beaver,Utah. Well, Jeanette and I are on a little bit of a road trip.

Since moving to L.A. we have been driving David's truck. The truck has served us well but it was time to move on. I am not exaggerating when I say that it is the most beat up and dirtiest vehicle in the entire state of California. It was already a bit worse for wear when we first got to L.A. but it has only gone downhill from there. David got his official "welcome to L.A." salute by getting rear-ended a few months ago. The body damage was bad enough to write off our truck but it was still drive-able. Did you know that you can wait for a year to make an insurance claim and continue driving the vehicle? Well you can!

Since then I had a bit of a run-in with a parked truck made of solid steel resulting in a wee bit of a scratch. The truck has also started backfiring and I'm a bit scared of getting stranded on the side of the freeway with my kids in the back. So, it's time for something new, don't you think? I'm all for being frugal but come on now. I recently went to Beverly Hills for a choir rehearsal and someone asked me if I saw the Beverly Hillbillies to which I replied "I WAS the Beverly Hillbillies!".

Long story short, my sister sold us her old Rav 4 which Asha lovingly christened Amelia Bedelia. It's the perfect vehicle for us. Unfortunately my parents' neighbours' teenage son backed into poor Amelia and destroyed the driver's door. This is one of those occasions when I thank my lucky stars that David is not only the kind of guy who can get straight A's in grad school but also the kind of guy who can find a new door for a vehicle and put it on in record time. It was going to take the bodyshop over a week which wouldn't have left us enough time to drive to L.A. before David and the girls arrive. The only door for a Rav 4 in all of Alberta was red and there wasn't time to get it painted so poor Amelia Bedelia looks a little ridiculous. We just can't escape our hillbilly ways! Don't worry. We will get it painted once we get to L.A..

So that brings us to two girls, two dogs, and the open road. Jeanette was planning on visiting us in the new year anyway so she came along for the ride! Luckily David is also the kind of guy who can be left with his two kids while his wife Thelma-and-Louises it up with her best friend! Don't worry, we're staying away from Brad Pitt and the Grand Canyon.

Just outside of Red Deer we started to notice a peculiar sound coming from Amelia's front left wheel well. We immediately called David and tried to get him to listen to the sound through the phone. When we pulled over and looked we couldn't help but notice the mud flap hanging down rubbing against the wheel. When we told David he sarcastically said "I love that you called me before you even looked at it. ". Whatever. He loves helping us damsels in distress.

As we carried on further south we were told that there were not one, not two, but THREE fires burning in Southern Alberta.  In January. What the hell? The highway had been closed because of smoke as well as winds so strong that they were pushing over semis and RVs. This led to a minor detour but we managed to cross the border without a problem. The border security guy waved us through quite quickly. It might have been that we were little nervous and became giggly and annoying. Why is it that I always get nervous at customs even though I have nothing to hide?

So the rest of the trip has included 2 provinces, 5 states, several bathroom breaks, and a covert operation to sneak Stobie into a hotel room. We have seen the Big Montana sky, the beautiful mountains of Idaho & Utah, and we're entering the Nevada desert. We'll be in Las Vegas soon. Oh dear! Hopefully we can survive Sin City!