School Supplies

We anticipated certain challenges—language barriers, cultural differences, and perhaps even the occasional food mishap. But nothing quite prepared us for the world of school supplies. This was confusing, comical, and stressful. I should be a pro at this, right? Nope. Thankfully we had a picture (that we took when we went to Luke’s school back in July) of the list of required supplies. I couldn’t translate most of the items. I left this one to Gabe, again!

We drove to an office supply store in Bayonne. We walked in to what you might say is my personal favorite store of all time! First sight: Frixion pens in every color. But those were not on Luke’s list. A sign pointed upstairs for school supplies, but once there we realized that those were preorders. Down the stairs we went.

Gabe appeared overwhelmed. Charlie was being difficult. Luke was staring off into space. I didn’t know what to think. Gabe went to the counter, I kept the boys back. Thank goodness for one helpful employee at the store. He sensed our confusion, which must have been radiating from our furrowed brows, and offered to help. We emailed our list to him, with the list printed, we followed him around. We stopped at the pencil section filled with ten different types of pencils with various point sizes, but we only needed one specific kind. He pointed to the correct one. Then, he led us to bins filled with folders, each with different paper lines, page numbers, and colors. Wide-ruled, narrow-ruled, grid-lined, blank options. We were utterly clueless until the employee simply pointed to bins and said, "Un" or "Deux." I started keeping track on my phone.

French - White folder Math - Red folder

English - Yellow folder. Spanish - Dark blue folder

History - Green folder. Science (binder) - Blue folder

Science (physical) - Light blue folder. Art - Orange binder

Music - Turquoise page holder Technology - Black binder

LCA - Black folder (What's LCA? We'll find out.)

Next came math tools: protractor, ruler, set square, compass, and calculator. Check, check, check. The final item was a pencil bag for Luke. Done. 180 Euros later, our stressful but successful school supply mission was accomplished, thanks to the helpful store employee. Merci.

So, what did we learn? You can simply email your list to the store, and they'll gather everything for you to pick up the next day. Wish we knew that earlier. Once in the car, I turned to Luke and asked him how he felt about getting his school supplies. He simply replied, "It feels too real."

Charlie, no list, no info. I'm racking my brain, wondering where they might post it. It's a little too "fend for yourself" for my taste. I like things organized, you know? We even went to the school, but it was closed. School starts next week, and you'd think the teachers and office staff would be there prepping, right? Nope, not the case.

So, off to the education office we went—well, Gabe went in. No list ahead of time, apparently. The teacher hands it out on the first day of school. The mystery of school shopping in France solved. But then, Gabe received an email, from the administrator in Bordeaux Gabe emailed this morning, and he sent a copy of a CM2 supply list. Yay! Gabe will call Dulong, and tomorrow, we can pick up Charlie's supplies, just like everyone else does around here. We cracked another French code. "I can fend for myself. Tsch."

Charlie’s 10th birthday is tomorrow! The plan. Amanda, Alfred, Oriole, and Chloe are here in San Sebastian. So we are going to a cidreria for lunch and then we will play basketball on a court down the street from our place. Let’s hope the rain takes a pause.