Henry and I had a date on Friday night - Lydia was at a birthday party and Philip was out of town for a wedding. He picked the itinerary - Mongolian BBQ for dinner, fro yo for dessert & Harry Potter - Chamber of Secrets for our viewing pleasure. While at dinner we were chatting and I asked if he had been nervous about meeting new friends here and he replied (without missing a beat), "No - I wasn't nervous at all about the making friends part. I was just nervous I'd be kidnapped by a homeless person." Reality check for mama. We'd talked about safety but kidnapping somehow escaped my parental radar...but he got me to thinking. I've been logging all of my thoughts and ponderings about this move, but I haven't actually written down what the kids' points of view have been. I offer you now the first official interview of the Marcum children post-move to Canada - enjoy!
MK: What has been the best part of moving to Vancouver?
L: My school and my new home. I love my bedroom - because we have a bunk bed and me and Henry share a room. It's also awesome to get our own pool and our own hot tub; and I like taking an elevator every day to our apartment.
H: Everything's around us - the beach is a couple of blocks away, we can walk to our school, we have less homework, not as many McDonald's. Halloween is really fun - you go to the mall with your class ad all the shops give you candy!
MK: What has been the hardest part of moving to Vancouver?
L: The traffic - I don't like the lines to get here.
H: Getting used to seeing homeless people.
MK: What is school like compared to Clemson?
L: The lunchroom smells gross; I'm in first grade, not kindergarten; it's different here because there's four floors and the playground is huge.
H: Less homework - a LOT less homework. It's not as big but it has a bigger playground. The building is different because it's a lot taller [4 stories].
MK: If there was one thing you could change about living in Vancouver, what would it be?
L: Our house - I'd have our Clemson house here.
H: More football; less hockey.
MK: What has been the biggest surprise about living in Vancouver?
L: There are lots of different restaurants right around us.
H: It's way bigger and we have a lot more stuff to do.
MK: What have you learned?
L: Math and reading; and I've learned that I'm really new here. Being new has made me feel happy because it just makes me happy.
H: My teacher really loves Harry Potter. I've learned that I am getting more used to being in a big city; I've also learned that there's stuff I can do here that I didn't do in Clemson like playing outside more - more recess too.
MK: What are some new/different words used here vs. in the States?
L: Washroom (instead of bathroom), the letter z is called 'zed'
H: Zed is 'z'; Chaps is another word for friend; Runners are tennis shoes; "Tukes" are stocking caps.
MK: What would be your perfect weekend in Vancouver?
L: Going to Whistler and skiing and playing on the playground and ice skating.
H: Having all my friends over, going to the beach, riding my bike along the entire seawall.
MK: What do you miss most about SC?
L: Friends & family.
H: There's more football there than here.
MK: How would you describe Vancouver to someone who's never been here before?
L: It's a very big city, we live in an apartment, and it's really awesome.
H: It's big, tall and really fun.
MK: What are you most excited about doing while we're here that we haven't done yet?
L: The Vancouver Christmas Market (she knows we're going today tho ^>^)
H: Ice skating!
There you have it - Vancouver through the eyes of an almost 9 year old and a 6 year old. Life is good and on this US Thanksgiving our gratitude runs deep. I'm most thrilled that our children seem to have a handle on remembering treasures of our family history while celebrating what's new in our life. I plan to interview them every few months to keep a running tab of their thoughts on this adventure. Here's to more memories being made and for the love of those near and far who are woven into our story. Happy Thanksgiving y'all!
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