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.