Rosa is from Spain

Chapter 1 - The Journey Begins

Rosa is from Spain. She lives in a small flat in Madrid with her mother.

Rosa's mother is called Maruja.

Tomorrow is a big day for Rosa. She is going to the airport. She is flying to London. She will stay with an English family in Wembley, West London.

Maruja is a little sad. She likes her daughter, but tomorrow she will have to say goodbye.

Rosa is putting three books in her suitcase. Maruja is watching her. The suitcase looks very heavy.

"Do you need all those books?" Maruja asks.

"Yes, mummy! The yellow book is a Spanish English dictionary and the red one is a Tourist Guide to London."

"But do you need that big, black book?"

"Yes, of course, mummy! The black book's very important. It's about children. My English family has two young children and I'm going to look

after them."

Rosa is very interested in children. Last year, she studied Psychology at university. Maruja likes children too, but she does not know about Psychology.

"But, Rosa ... the black book's in Spanish! It's about Spanish children!"

"No, mummy! It's about European children. We're all Europeans now! My psychology book's international!"

"I don't know about psychology, but I know about you. You're my child.

You've got Spanish culture and habits."

"What do you mean, mummy?"

"I mean that you have good education, you like good food, you have lunch at 3 p.m. and dinner at 10 p.m. You like sun and you don't like rain.

British children are different!"

Chapter 2 - Meeting the English Family

We are now in a street in West London. The sky is very dark and it is raining.

This is Rosa's big day. Her first day in England.

Rosa is getting out of a London taxi. The taxi driver is carrying a very heavy suitcase. They walk through the rain to the front door of a big Victorian house.

A small girl opens the door. She is four years old. Her brother is standing behind her. He is only two years old. One minute later, a young woman comes to the door.

"Welcome to Wembley!", she says and she offers Rosa her hand. "These are my two children, Elisabeth and Isaac."

"Pleased to meet you, Mrs Frost!" says Rosa with a strong Spanish accent.

The two children run back into the living-room.

"Don't worry about them! They're a little shy. And please call me Diana!

Now let me show you your room and then we can have a nice cup of tea. Or would you prefer coffee?"

"I'd like to try a cup of English tea, made in England."

"This is your bedroom. There's a nice view of the football stadium and here's a little desk where you can study. The bathroom and toilet are just opposite your door. Now I'll just go and put the kettle on."

"Excuse me. What's a kettle?"

"In England, we use a kettle to make hot water. We can then put the hot water in a teapot or use it to make instant coffee."

Rosa is happy with her new home, but she is thinking about her mother's opinions. Perhaps Maruja is right. The British are not normal people. They do not kiss when they meet and they live in large Victorian palaces.

Their favourite drink is tea and they use strange metal kettles to make the water hot. What is she going to say to Elisabeth and Isaac? How can she make friends with two shy English children? Perhaps the answer is in the big, black psychology book.

Chapter 3 - Getting to know English children.

It is Saturday. Mr and Mrs Frost are shopping at their local supermarket.

Rosa is alone for the first time with Elisabeth and Isaac. They are in the living-room. The two Frost children are sitting in front of the television. They are watching a Tom and Jerry cartoon.

Tom is a cat and Jerry is a mouse. The mouse is very intelligent and gives the cat a difficult time. The cartoon is popular in many countries and Rosa often watches it in Spain, but she is not watching it with the children.

Rosa is taking some coloured crayons and some paper from a plastic bag.

First, she draws a picture of her English family's kitchen. She then draws Tom and Jerry. Tom the cat is on the kitchen table and Jerry is under it. The mouse is drinking the cat's milk.