I don't know whether this has been coming across, but things have been seeming a little better lately.  Simeon and Matthias aren't fighting quite as much, Magdalene isn't breaking down in despair quite as often, and I'm not damaging my vocal chords yelling at those poor kids because I'm so culture-shocked quite as severely.  (Mimi is continuing to yell and have fits all the time, especially in stores, where, as Matthias has pointed out, she always gets given something by the both disapproving and compassionate store keeper--she's scored bread, a stuffed mole, chouquettes (a kind of pastry) and who knows what besides.  I've taken to bribing her with lollipops just for going to the store--in Bellingham it's only for going running, as Anna knows well.)  Anyway, last night was another setback, or if not a setback, a sign that things are not really there yet.  Matti (contrary to his non-representational pictures here) was crying because when he asks others if he can play with them at recess, they say no, that their games are too hard for him.  Magdalene had a complete breakdown at dinner because (a) they put her in a class with all students who are not interested in studying and so are not her kind of people and so are not her friends, and (b) everybody treats her as if she's a complete idiot, which she assured us she is not (as if we don't know).  
Then, to top it all off, I completely lost my temper with her when, after doing 2 hours of homework with her (it was 10:00 pm), I discovered that her french binder was in a complete mess, with sheets strewn all over the place, and I accused her of not doing her best (that was my breakdown, in case you are all wondering how this fits with the previous descriptions of breakdowns).  I went to sulk in my room after that, just like a teenager, and then I woke Magdalene early this morning to finish doing physics homework and French homework.  It's a grueling schedule, and I am learning a lot of stuff never knew (or had forgotten) about the first world war, the russian revolution, the weight of electrons, the shape of chromosomes, and the nature of metaphors and similes.  I'd just rather be reading my own books at 10:00 pm.  

Oh, and then, to top it all off, when I got back from my little urban walk with Tipomme, after dropping the boys off at school, I was locked out of the house.  The little flap that covers the lock on the courtyard door had covered the lock which prevented my key from functioning.  I had removed a piece of rolled up paper from that flap a week or so ago, wondering why the former tenants, clearly slobs, had left it there.  Well, after twenty minutes of trying to push the flap up with various thicknesses and various species of pieces of wood, I finally succeeded in getting in (I did consider breaking a window, and I did check that they were all securely locked).  So, the first thing I did was roll up a bit of paper to secure the flap up and away from the lock.  And then I took out the computer to tell someone my story, since there is no one here I get to talk to.  Aside from my children's unhappiness, and my own occasional lapses of calm, I do lead a very silent life here.  I miss all my little chatting sessions with all my friends around Parkview and in the neighborhood.  A year really is a long time.