Saturday, April 12, 2008

Odds and Ends

Hey there faithful readers... whom I hear exist. (ahem mom.... Jackie... etc...). I wanted to ask that You make some comments when you read. I would like to get an idea of who is reading and comments are great to read. Super easy to do and you don't need an account or anything. Just click under the post in the white area where it says "0 comments" or however many... lets aim for not zero. :)

Here are some random things that I find amusing. First of all is the progress of my Spanish. Thank you for anyone who has been praying about this. If you ever hear someone complaining about people in the US not speaking English, I give you full permission to slap them. It is NOT easy to fall into a new culture and have to change the process of your thoughts (because in order to master a language you have to have to have to THINK in that Language... in words you don't know... with verb conjugations you might remember from high school Spanish... and then there are idioms and colloquialisms, cause who wants to be that nerdy kid who never ever uses any slang? AND, if you don't know it you won't have any idea what anyone else is saying.... wow).
I feel more and more comfortable in this language. I can say without any reservations that I love it. Spanish flows so much more easily I think.

I had a lengthy conversation with my roommate Yolanda last night (Have I mentioned Yolis? She only speaks Spanish so it forces me to not slack off. You can't really live with someone in silence... well, I guess you can but wow... depressing). In any case it was great.

Joking in Spanish can be tricky but I am starting to be better with it. Today I was walking from the park and some guys at a construction site (ready for this?) started singing Pretty Woman in the sharpest Mexican Accents. Very Phonetic sounding.... well I just never look when people do that. It happens all the time. It was hard to keep a straight face though! WELL there was a vendor nearby who said to me in Spanish that they were singing to me and we had a little discussion where I tried to convince him that no no, they were singing to HIM. It was pretty funny. Anyone who knows me know I can't live without humor. This is a breath of fresh air!

Thats about it for now. Nothing spectacular... OH but if you are interested in trying Just Coffee, Let me know and I will see what I can do to send you a little to try. It is really tasty. Strong coffeehouse type though. Folgers lovers need not apply!




This is my roommate Leisha and our friend Neftali.

THIS is Vickis Pazole.... doesn't look like much but wow.... I mean... wow.

Me and Leisha outside Cafe Justo. Just for the record, it is where the Cifuentes family lives too, so we aren't just hanging around a coffee roastery all the time. :)
This is me and Louis at a church picnic on Easter Sunday. Louis is in the Mexican military and yet one of the nicest most hilarious people I know here. PS I am not pregnant.... it.s just the shirt.

This is me and Yolis and Marks Daughter Anna Flor at Mark and Miriams house.



Another interesting thing I learned. Around here the wife doesn't customarily take the Husbands name. This totally threw me off for awhile. We were getting mail for Miriam Maladona... I was like WHO is that. And Mark said "Um... my wife?" ... Oh. haha

Anyways, the weather is great here. Lots of wind lately which is annoying. Dust in the eyes etc... but all is wonderful. Leisha gets back from Puebla on Wednesday and Next Saturday is a movie in the park. Dave and Katies wedding is in about a month which should be a good time... I think I will go crazy having no Spanish music and speaking only English. My English has actually gotten worse. Once your grammar construction changes there is no coming back. Ha ha

ANYWAY, Pop quiz.... what are you going to do now?

A. Gorge on Lucky Charms
B. Become a Vegitarian
C. Watch a movie in Spanish
D. Comment on my Blog
E. All of the Above

ALL good choices. I will leave you to decide.

Shao!

Wednesday, April 2, 2008

Newspaper Excerpt

From the Douglas Daily Dispatch:


Article entitled "Fence up, but will it work?"

"... The Secure Fence Act of 2006 was approved with the intent of preventing immigrants from illegally entering the United States. Local property owners along the border, a government official and representatives of border watch groups agree that the fence can be climbed. Some people are critical of the project, but others are optimistic."


so in case you were wondering, the fence CAN be climbed.... the migrants in the US currently have not, in fact, teleported into our country.

Thus noted.