The buddy system

Before we embarked on this year-long adventure, well-meaning parents asked me dozens of times how our kids would cope so far away from their friends and extended family. As Oprah would say, "what I know for sure" now is that being the new kid on the block doesn't necessarily have to be the terrible social burden it’s cracked up to be. And who knew it could be so easy?

Maybe it’s just luck or resilience or the magical clicking of personalities, or maybe where the new kid comes from is all that matters to those who’ve already staked their territory. Either way, we are very lucky indeed because Canada, it seems, is the coolest place on earth to the kids at Mornington Primary School and they’ve embraced Molly and Annie with great gusto. Joining Annie and Molly (centre and top) are (from left) Shania, Miia, Lauren and Melitta.