Learning Our Ah, Beh, Say What?

To graduate from my high school you had to take 2 years of a foreign language. I had heard bad things about the Spanish teacher so I desperately tried to get into the French class. It didn’t work, so off to Senora Armstrong’s class I went. I got along quite well with her, though she always dogged me about my terrible accent. And to be honest with you, at the time, I had no idea what an accent was.
We love being in Mexico and are quite fond of the people, the food, and the culture. Each day is sure to bring a new adventure. The language barrier is tough and we have to get creative in our communications. I find myself doing a lot of sign language, which is really me waving my arms around looking like a retarded monkey. One day we needed a bit of rope to tie up the dog we’re babysitting. Rachel asked one of the ranch hands for what she thought was a piece of rope for the dog. She was given a confused look and taken over to a pile of rags. Later we figured out that she had been asking for some clothes for the dog. Ropa = clothes. And simple things like the word, “de” can change so much. We were borrowing a battery for our van and I kept asking Mario, “Donde la bateria?” Mario kept just pointing at the battery with a confused look on his face. I was trying to ask, “Where did this battery come from?” What I kept asking was, “Where is the battery?” Rachel came out and said, “Mario, de donde la bateria?” and it all became clear.
So the learning continues. As you can see, we have a long way to go. One nice part about the Spanish language is that unlike English, the vowels always sound the same. A, E, I, O, U always sounds like Ah, Eh, E, O, Ooh. Try reading some of these words with that rule in mind and you’ll find a bit of a Spanish accent already coming out. I wish Senora Armstrong would have taught me that. Or, I wish I would have paid more attention when she was teaching. But come on, “When will we ever use this in the real world, Senora Armstrong?”
We’ve had some really hot days with the Farenheit getting above 104…Ouch! But overall, the weather seems to be really temperate here with cool mornings, hot afternoons, and warm evenings. It’s all part of getting use to being in the tropics. Also, living with a wide array of lizards, spiders, and other insects is a huge change for our family. Last night when I went to shut the front door after getting the van unloaded, I saw just the curl of a rigid black tail creeping under the door into the house. I shut the door and to my surprise was met by a six inch scorpion staring maliciously back at me. Yuck! Those things are straight from the pit of hell. I quickly grabbed my knife, took a deep breath and plunged the blade into its mid-section. I’m always amazed at how long something can live with half its guts spilled out on the floor. One time, back in the States, we saw one of those, “Man vs. Wild” shows where he ripped the stinger off a scorpion and put the rest in his mouth. Let me tell you, that won’t be happening with us any time soon.
We all continue to walk in divine health and are grateful to currently be on a ranch where they have their own water wells. The water tastes a bit like potatoes, but it makes such a difference simply having clean water! Thank you all for your prayers and your financial support. It’s always so nice to know that we’re not in this alone.
I find myself reviewing and desperately grasping every Spanish lesson I can remember from the recesses of my high school days. I sure am glad I couldn’t work French into my schedule…else we may be in France right now, and you all know how I feel about that. There are two things I can’t stand: people that our intolerant of other people’s cultures…and the French.