School

Greetings from eternally spring Cuernavaca, Mexico.

Isaiah and Micah are attending preschool at the “Buena Tierra” (Good Earth) school. The school is supported in part by MCC’s Global Family Project. Go to http://www.mcc.org/globalfamily/projects/latinamerica/mexico/cebt.html for more information. It is in the middle of a squatter’s settlement. The school is a true gem in the midst of great poverty.

When I picked the boys up after their first day, I asked the teachers how it went. “They both did great, but we couldn’t understand anything they said. They seem to understand us though.” So the boys are still speaking English, but functioning in Spanish. We are so proud of them and thankful for how well they are adapting to this new situation.

Martin and I are attending our own language school in an incredibly beautiful setting. Tangerine and Orange trees abound in an immaculately landscaped, terraced garden, complete with swimming pool. I asked Martin how his classes are going. “I try to say ‘thank you’ every time I am corrected. I think I say ‘thank you’ a hundred times a day.” he replied. “Yesterday I told my teacher that she was a saint. She handed me a dictionary, so I looked up saint in Spanish – santa. She laughed and kindly replied – “Oh Martin, You are the saint for coming here to learn Spanish.” There were many other funny stories this week, but he didn’t understand them, as they were all in Spanish.

After some informal conversation (or so I thought) with the director at the language school, she promptly informed me that she knew exactly what I needed. “I’ve noticed that you aren’t using the subjunctive form when you should be.” she said. “You need to work on your grammar.” Ahhh yes, and that’s exactly why I’m here. And so begins the next two months of language school here in Cuernavaca.