Tomorrow they are organizing a New Year's party at sadik -- so many kids will be leaving for the holidays that they decided this was the best way to include everyone. They have been getting the kids ready for the past few days by bringing out the Santa (Ded Moroz/Father Frost in Soviet tradition) costume and putting it on.
Apparently Anya is the only one of the 10 or so kids there who was afraid (or maybe just didn't like so much) when the teachers and kids tried on the fake white beard. (Despite my having dutifully taken her to her first post-Sov "yolka" New Year's party last year in Vlad.) The suggestion was that we talk up Santa a little bit at home, so she won't be scared at the party, but have fun with the rest of the kids instead.
Since part of getting ready for the Embassy Christmas-New Year's party in several days is to color in a picture of Santa and some presents, I figured why not use that as the occasion to talk about Santa (as if she won't have her whole childhood to hear about St. Nick and the presents he brings to good boys and girls...). I showed her the drawing, asked her who that is, and she promptly told me: "Is it Nargis [sadik teacher] wearing a beard?" Smart kid.
2 comments:
Smart kid! Guess I need to send her your Santa!
Smart, yeah ! But also into her own mind--she's gonna do it her way, or no way. But that's what charmed me when she was here--that absolute sense of who she was and what she wanted to do--or didn't want to do. Santa/bearded teacher appears to have been in the "didn't" category !
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