Our adventure continues…Mission Accomplished – we picked a school!

Brandon's 1st day of school pic. I embarrassed him!!

Choosing the right school for Brandon was very important. We needed a school that would accommodate his educational needs plus would offer him sports, culture and new friendships. My biggest concern was the small environments in the other schools. For example, there is only one 7^th grade class at Knightsbridge which had a total of eight students which translated to me eight friends in Panama. Out of all the schools: ISP, MET and Balboa are the only facilities that met our criteria.

We are very happy with our decision to enroll Brandon into Balboa Academy – home of the Dragons! They service 47 countries and have over 850 students! Eventually he will go back to the States for college and we wanted to give him the same environment he would have to adapt to their.

Sticker shock!!!

International schools are very expensive and our first check was close to $10,000.00! (GULP)

The breakdown of the fees is as followed:

• Capital fee: $10,000.00 ($5,000 due now, $5,000 due next school year)

• Tuition: $2,543.00 (due 4 times the school year which totals to $10,172.00)

• Application fee: $150.00

•  Annual registration fee: $1,274.00

• Annual Infrastructure fee: $450.00

• PTSO fee: $20.00

• Bus Transportation fee: $55.00 a month

• School uniforms: $142.00 for shirts, pants, and gym uniforms

This is an investment on our part for Brandon’s future. This experience will be something he will be able to reflect on as he gets older. He has met several kids and has called many of them “friends” already! Lukas is from Germany, Logan is from Scotland, Saehan, who Brandon says is white, is adopted with Indian parents, and Bernard is from Cuba. His new friends kindly gave Brandon the low down of the “troublemakers”, who are older students. Some things don’t change! Apparently they start food fights and get kids in trouble for smoking, LOL!! Who knows the extent of the trouble these kids have been in but if it’s only food fights, hey, I’m not too worried.

In Panama, all kids are required to wear uniforms. This is a big change for Brandon since he has never worn a uniform in his life. As most of you know, he has his own swag, Bay area style, to now a collared shirt and pants every day. Surprisingly he doesn't mind it. It’s easy and requires no thinking! Another change for Brandon is riding the bus. The bus service is very common here, unlike in California where I had to drop him off and pick him up every day.

Overall, our first week has been good. We've had our challenges that I’ll touch on my next blog! We are starting to develop our own routines and eventually this will be our new normal. This weekend we have our first school event, the Fall Festival and our first community Halloween party. I hope to meet some of my neighbors and get to know my new community!!  For now, many blessings to everyone!!