Jag är förbannad...

På barnens skola är vi bortskämda med allsköns lyx och service men ibland snurrar karusellen lite för fort och då är det dags att kliva av och reagera. Här är dagens mail till Rektorn på Middle school.
Jag har ännu inte fått svar. Får nog vänta till hon har forskat klart i frågan. Känner jag henne rätt, har hon dragit igång värsta korståget nu.

Ursäkta min simpla engelska, bättre än så här blir det inte.



Dear Donna,

I am writing to you because I am worried and confused about how field trip procedure works at Wab. I have trust in you and I know I can rely on you to give me a good reply on this mail.

As you may know Ludvig was two hours late yesterday, somehow, in a series of terrible events we got the time wrong. This is totally our responsibility.

We have been "Wabfolks" for a long time now, and we have no history of being late, nonchalant or not showing up without notice in advance.

Here is the scenario as I know it:

Sunday evening everything was packed. Checked and double checked, Ludvig was ready to go. Looking forward so much to this trip.

Monday morning, Ludvigs father drove him to school in, what we still thought, good time. At the same time I took the dog for a walk without, for once, my cell phone. Waving and blowing kisses at the two of them as the car drove away.

When I got back from my walk I could hear the signal from the phone on the kitchen table. As I answered I could see that I had a lot of missed calls. It was Kevin Rose calling to tell me that Ludvig had missed the buss and that they were supposed to meet at 6am that morning. Ludvig was almost two hours late!! Unfortunately the train would leave in ten minutes from Beijing West, so there was no chance for us to make it there in time.

Imagine my adrenalin rush! I had to think fast. My husband was stuck in meeting and there was no chance for me to get through to him. Luckily, we are blessed with good Chinese friends, and one of them promised me to take Ludvig all the way to Taiyuan. This was a trip that Ludvig really didn´t want to miss!

It took them from 10am to 5.30pm to reach the destination. It was the hotel in Wutaishan. Peter, our Chinese friend, made sure they were at the right place and then he left for the long drive back to Beijing, it is now 12pm and he has still not arrived in Beijing.

According to the wab contact, Wang Wenjing, Ludvig was told that his friends would turn up at the hotel in 40 minutes. They did not. After one hour Ludvig called me, he was worried and alone. Another 40 minutes passed and then they all arrived at the hotel. I was in contact with Kevin a few times and he sms:d me when everyone was together and safe. The time showed then right after 7pm.

....
Aftermath
Here is a few questions that has popped up in my head and a lot of other parents heads as well:

Why didn´t anyone call Ludvigs parents when he didn´t show up on Monday morning?

If they would have called when they were leaving Wab, there would still have been a chance for Ludvig to reach the Beijing West Railway station in time.

Did anyone even notice that he was missing?
If they did, did they care? What action was taken?

He had a permission slip signed by me that he was allowed to bike home from the trip on Friday. That means he should have biked to school on Monday. Now, he couldn´t since he was in car accident on Saturday and his bike was totally broken(he was so lucky with only minor injuries). But what if he did bike and he was hit by a car on the way to school? Then we all would have thought that he was fine, on his way together with the rest on their way to Taiyuan. When would we have found out that that wasn´t the case?

It feels terrible for me to think that wab staff just didn´t care that he wasnt there on the bus on Monday morning. How is he treated now? For him this is a very awkward situation were he feels left out. Are they considering that?

I am not asking for a special treatment, I just wonder where that Wab family feeling has gone. Has Wab grown too big to care about the single student?

What happened? This doesn´t feel right, not in my head and not in my stomach.

Regards,
Victoria Kesten, Ludvigs Mother