How are we adjusting?

I get asked a lot how Brian, the kids and I are adjusting. I thought I would give you a bit of an update on just that.

Joelle (4 years old)

Joelle practices and speaks the most Spanish. While she doesn’t quit understand everything and makes up half of her Spanish words she’s not afraid to practice. Her Spanglish is getting excellent. The other day at the store she was asking for Christmas presents and she said, “Este para Christmasa!” (her attempt to say “this for Christmas”)

She has her moments of disobedience in the classroom at school. She is also adjusting going to school along with moving to a new country. I have been told that many of the times she is disobedient, because she HAS to jump out of line to give all her friends in the other classes hugs and tell them she loves them. Her teacher told me that all the kids have learned the English words “I love you” because of Joelle. After school you will see Joelle running up to people both teachers and students and giving them great big hugs. Joelle is very well liked!

She also has been known to repeat like a parrot everything her teacher says. It’s understandable when she is trying to learn the Spanish, but she does it when her teacher is speaking English as well. She also corrects her teachers English and tells her if she doesn’t think she is saying something right. She is a stinker! We never had bad reports given to us by our boys’ teachers, but Joelle walks to the beat of a different drum.

Joelle generally loves being in Mexico, but one day when she was really cranky whatever I said her response was, “I want to go back to Indiana!” I couldn’t reason with her until she woke up the next morning.

Edan (6 years old)

Edan is not like Joelle and doesn’t go around trying to speak in Spanish all day, but occasionally he will say something in Spanish and you will realize he is starting to understand.

Edan’s taste buds are slowly beginning to adjust, he likes candy with chili, mango, beans, tamales and a few other things. He was already some what picky in the US so I didn’t expect miracles here.

Edan likes school and has a lot of friends. He is playing basketball at the school and really enjoys that. He is reading like crazy now! He doesn’t really have the discipline problems that Joelle has in the classroom. The one thing that is still tough on him he says is that “we can’t speak Spanish”. But occasionally he will speak up and you might hear him say,“Como estas? Bien Y tu?” (How are you? Good and You?) and he has learned how to ask the other kids if he can play with them at recess. (The most important phrase to learn for a 6 year old!)

Edan has also solved the mystery of the “Tooth Fairy” verse “El Ratoncito”. The secret is now out…it’s a mouse! A couple of nights ago David lost his tooth and Edan said he saw a light gray mouse leaving after he left the money. But the silly mouse forgot the tooth. Oops!

David (7 years old)

David learned right away if you play soccer in Mexico you have friends. Everyday for recess that is what he does, play soccer! He also really likes that they have a basketball team at the school that he is on and he is old enough to go play other schools.

I asked David what he misses about the US and he said, “I don’t know what I miss?” Things are becoming normal to him. He feels like almost everything feels normal to him right now except the language and some of the food. But he like Tamales and tacos as long as they are without peppers and onions. He goes to Special Spanish everyday with basically a tutor and him, sometimes another student is with him. David and I (Joy) play against each other and see who can get his Spanish vocabulary the quickest. He usually wins on his older words and I beat him on the newer ones. He has helped me out on a few occasions when I am trying to come up with a Spanish word to say in public. (But I still know more than him and I am trying hard to not let him pass me!)

As for me and Brian

We have our up and down moments. Even today I actually called, in Spanish, the gas company and also got up on the roof to try and fix our water. After about an hour waiting for the gas company I started getting really discouraged that I wasn’t understood on the phone and they weren’t coming. I was also having problems getting the water to work. (Which it’s still not the greatest.) After about five minutes of doubt the door bell rang and the gas people showed up. I’m not completely incompetent! I was encouraged once again. The encouragement didn’t last long as I was discouraged because I could get the cold water to work, but not the warm water. That is an example of the up and down’s of adjusting to a new country. Sometimes you feel progress and success, then the next minute feelings of failure and discouragement. Preferably, Brian and I are not both down at the same time.