Practical matters

21 August 2008

100% done language study?

For months and months you’ve been watching the little bar on the sidebar of this blog. It illustrated the progress of our language studies at the university in Cuernavaca. Finally, in late spring, it reached 100%. Celebration! But what does that actually mean?

Well, in practical terms it meant that we had finished our studies at the university, and were ready to move on to our "Orientation Year" which we are now beginning. We were finished because we had completed (in theory) a certain level of Spanish, which meant that we (supposedly) could figure out how to basically express our thoughts using correct Spanish grammar.

Sounds good right? Well, slow down cowboy. What does that really mean? Where are we, the Cottrills, at – in real life?

It means that, one day I can carry on a 15 minute conversation with someone. The next day I stand baffled at the checkout counter while the cashier tries to ask me something simple (like "do you have 1 peso so I can give you a 50 peso bill in change?").

It means that I can have a great conversation with a friend, and afterward realize I meant to say,"Maybe you can visit my house" but really said,"We all visited my house".

It means I may have a good vocabulary when it comes to cooking, but not know the word for "stir".

My brain works in mysterious ways, and my Spanish ability varies drastically from day to day. I learn things well, but usually need to hear them first a huge number of times, and then after all that I’ll still forget when I need the word the most! I’m sure a lot of you out there know what I’m talking about.

So yes, we’ve come a long way. And no, we’re not fluent comfortable Spanish speakers. We’ve had more than one person tell us that it was about 5 years before they really were able to comfortably carry on regular conversations. 3 years, 3 months to go! 😉

Thankfully, our leadership considers this year (orientation year) to be a language learning year. It gives us a chance to get out of the school where everyone TALKS VERY CLEARLY, to the "real world" where we have no clue what anyone is talking about (with all their accents, "improper" Spanish, idioms, word play, incomplete words and sentences…).

We will most likely try to work with a tutor for most of this year as well, to continue our more formal language study on top of the regular conversations and interactions we have every day. Hannah and Nathanael will also be continuing school in Spanish.

So now that I’ve explained that, I’ll have to put something new in the sidebar for you to watch!

18 August 2008

First day of school in Mexico City (2008/2009)

Jim Family, Mexico, Practical matters, Prayer and Praise 6

It was an early morning here as we got the kids ready for their first day of school. Uniforms on, backpacks ready, lunches packed, breakfasts eaten. I went out to the van – chilly morning, I could see my breath – and everyone got in and away we went.

Nathanael emerges out of his school
after the first day

We successfully found Hannah’s school. Her classes start earlier than Nathanael’s, so we all went there for the welcome ceremonies, including a presentation of the flag, speeches and introductions of the teachers. Nathanael couldn’t stand still that long, so he and I missed the last bit. He did like the bathrooms there, though, which have a huge painted Superman for the boys and a Wonder Woman for the girls.

With Hannah safely at school, we headed over to Nathanael’s school. We got there just in time, and in he was whisked. Did I even say goodbye? It was all so sudden! These days are certainly more stressful for the parents than the kids, right?

After some time we picked up Nathanael. He was very happy and had lots to tell us – especially that he had eaten all his lunch (although he also told us he had "shared" some of it). He seems to really like his school, and is convinced it’s better than Hannah’s (where all they seem to do is give boring speeches).

Shari went to pick up Hannah. The traffic was horrendous, so I think we may be looking for alternate routes! However, Hannah had a great day too. I missed the initial excitement, of course, since I didn’t pick her up.

We thought we were doing well getting everything ready for school until today. Hannah got a note home in her bag, telling us that they had forgotten some things that she needed to bring to school. Would we please buy them and have her bring them on Tuesday?

We also got Nathanael’s list of school supplies (they didn’t have a copy when we registered). 60-some-odd different items to buy. Not just one of each, either – several. Having been through this once, we know what most of them are. But there are a few… ! – – and where do we buy these? ! and …. we need them by when??

Well, we’re swamped as usual. But overall, the day went pretty well, everyone likes school, and no one lost a limb. So far so good.

And now that are the parents are rushing around trying to buy last minute school supplies, it’s time to get ready for Christmas! Here’s a photo I took of Nathanael today at WalMart…

Nathanael and an electronic Santa at WalMart

Nathanael with an electronic Santa
at WalMart today

14 August 2008

Banished to Paperwork Mountain

Jim Family, Practical matters 5

I feel like I was put in jail and forced to make license plates all day. But actually, no one forced me, and it wasn’t license plates. And it wasn’t jail. It was school paperwork.

That’s right, paperwork for school registration for Nathanael and Hannah. Photos, medical information, vital statistics, legal stuff – these schools will soon know all there is to know about our kids, except maybe what they had for lunch today.

Anyway, we still don’t have all the paperwork they require, but we’re hoping they’ll be able to wait on the rest, and will be satisfied with the papers that they are about to get buried under.

We have to bring photos to the school, so I thought you’d enjoy seeing some of the shots I took yesterday. If you want to see a larger version, just click on the photo pile itself to go to our Photo Gallery.

4 August 2008

Some of what’s on our minds (audio)

Jim Audio Blogs, Podcasts, Practical matters, Prayer and Praise 2

So I haven’t written much lately about what we’re actually “up to”. Here’s a quick hint of some of the things we’re doing and thinking about as we hurtle our way through August…

(Note: the player may not be working for you – if so, use the download function)

[display_podcast]

17 July 2008

Kenya, English, Leaks and updates on everything

Jim Ministry glimpses, Practical matters, Prayer and Praise 0

Well, okay, this isn’t really going to be an update on everything, but pretty close.

First of all, pictures of Kenya are now in the Photo Gallery. If you checked it before tonight (Thursday the 17th of July in the Year of Grace 2008), you haven’t seen them all. Of course, you still haven’t seen them all, but I’m not going to post any more right now. So be content.

These of course include photos of the wedding of Nate Kidder and Amy Winger. Don’t miss it.

You’ll also find a few photos of the English classes that have been going on this week in Ixtapaluca. The ones I took pictures of feature some interns from the USA at our church here, so you can see a bit of what our church looks like inside too. (If you want to see more interns and more activities, see Rod’s blog)

In other news, we continue to work on getting the house more functional. As of this week, we have bulbs and not just wires hanging from the ceiling, which is kind of cool (no light fixtures, just bulbs hanging from wires. But they’re nice wires.). We’ve also done more to try to keep water out of the house.

However, guess what Shari and I were doing tonight? That’s right. Moving things and mopping up and running for towels, after discovering a new leak in the kitchen. How many more leaks will we find? I just wish the water would leak out as easily as it leaks in!

Also hampering our efforts this week are these migraine symptoms that have been waxing and waning since Sunday. Today I spent a good part of the day in bed. But I’m hoping the worst is over.

To end on a brighter note, yesterday we had a brief but good visit from some of the Downs family from Cuernavaca. It’s always good to have visitors (when are you coming?). We also continue to get to know our neighbours. And we’ve gotten some good help and encouragement from the Fry family. We also enjoyed going to some activities this week – as you see in the gallery I poked my head in a few English classes, and also enjoyed a prayer meeting. Shari went to a ladies’ meeting (can you say that still? What’s PC – women’s meeting? Girls’ morning?) too.

Anyway, I’d better go check for leaks – bye for now!

8 July 2008

Yes, we have internet access!

Jim Computers and internet, Practical matters 1

Yes, as of yesterday we have internet access, and even a phone. How long has it been? About a month, I guess. Not bad considering the circumstances, although I had been hoping I would be able to check email and so on more in the mean time.

So, here I am with dozens of emails – people wanting me to do this, check that, fix these things, tell them the other stuff. I got a phone message telling me they were going to cut off this if I didn’t do that (turns out it actually wasn’t my responsibility at all), someone wanting to sign Shari up for that, a call about a free trip I had qualified for. The phone kept ringing even after I went to bed.

So anyway, I need to go through these dozens of emails and figure out what to do and say in them all – so thanks for your patience!

We’re still working out the bugs – the internet isn’t actually working in the office (of course, I can’t go up there anyway because the stairs are being tiled!), and sometimes it doesn’t want to work at all. But we’re getting there as you can see!

I’ll write more about the progress of the house later. The big news of the day really is that Shari gets back into town today! We’ll be picking her up at the airport this evening. 🙂

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