Preparación

Thank goodness there are some Spanish words that look like their English equivalent! We have been diligently studying Spanish in "preparación" of our trip. As I learn new words and phrases, it makes me cringe to think back on things that I have said on prior trips. I have the Spanish of a small child! Seriously!

When a young child starts to speak and tries to convey that they want things, they will be rather abrupt or rude or demanding. They say things like "Give me. . ." or "I want . . ." or "I need . . .", right? This is how my Spanish sounds. We say words like "Quiero" or "Necesito" which mean exactly the sames things a young child says! A couple nights ago when we were studying, we learned new phrases that are more polite and less demanding. Phrases that sound more like "I would like to" or "Could I" etc. This is all very exciting and in my head, I am already thinking of times/ways to use the phrases. But at the same time, it makes me cringe to think of being so abrupt or rude in the past! Yikes! I just pray that people chalk it up to ignorance!

Along with studying Spanish, we have been gathering items to take with us. We plan on spending some time at the Children's Home and they love to do "actividades". (Another one of those great Spanish words that looks like the English equivalent!) Don and I combed the aisles at a craft store for inexpensive things to do with about 30 kids. We also scanned the sale/clearance items online. It is so fun to find some great activities that we know the kids will enjoy.

We are also gathering things that we will need as well as things that will be used in the clinics. I have been looking for some cheap skirts (since I will be wearing dresses the whole time) as well as trying to figure out what the kids will need for clothes. Different climate (yeah!) means different clothes. We are trying to get lots of school done before we leave since we won't take much, if any, with us. Things are coming together! Thank goodness, since we have less than 3 weeks now!