¡Yo Soy Yulis!

April 13, 2013. It's amazing the paranoia that sets in with a language barrier. Is she still mad at me for last night? Was she mad at me in the first place? They lowered their voices, are they talking about me? What are they saying? Should I be talking more? But I have no idea what they're saying... Yup, my morning right there haha. Not only are there language barriers, but then there's the cultural aspect where I could have offended her without having any clue that I did something. Especially here when they won't say directly what's wrong if there is something wrong. And I think I'm officially sick. Nothing serious, just annoying and I sound like a man. It's hard to focus on translating everything when my head is cloudy.
But enough complaining! (Whoop! se fue la luz 9:25pm right now) My Doña's grand kids invited me to play cards (yes!) this morning. We played "Tres y Dos" which was the game Paola taught me! Except here, they play that Aces are wild. I liked that :). Neomi wrote down my name to keep score and wrote, Yulis. Haha it totally makes sense. A lot of times, they pronounce their /y/ like our /j/ and they always swallow the /s/ at the end if words. So Julie spelled Dominican is: Yulis. I think I might change my name! :D lol We then went outside and played tag in the yard of the neighbor's and eventually made our way back to that park. This time, I brought my camera and they took TONS of pictures (see sample below). We swung again, played more tag, and they made me pose for more pictures with flowers and such lol. Around noon (llegó la luz 9:31pm! not so bad!), we came back and ate lunch together (I had some sort of amazing lasagna thing. Soooo good). Another weird feeling is being thirsty all the time. I'm officially a fish, Daddy, drinkin' all the water pero it never feels like enough! Haha
We played a few more card games but then I had to head to the Multi Uso to prepare more materials while the resources were still available! I finished my sand paper vowels, made a dry erase board (with handwriting lines on the back) out of cardboard, white paper, markers, and a laminate sheet. Susan and I then discussed what we should do for our pull-outs on Tuesdays. I really hated the idea of busting into alfabetización right away with the kids. So, we made a sheet that says at the top, "¿Quién Soy?" And then, "Mi nombre es____" Big space in the middle and then "Tengo ___ años." Each child will write their name, age, and the draw pictures of who they are; what they like to do, favorite colors, their family, etc. Susan and I will do one as well and then we can share them! This way we can break the ice, get to know them a little, and see if they're able to write those simple things. We then have activities planned just centered around the alphabet alone; to see where they're at with names and sounds of the letters but nothing more. And they will be game-like and fun! Woo!
Afterwards, Susan and I went to a hotel restaurant to steal their wifi and just bought jugo de piña ;). No clue if that was okay but the guy didn't kick us out! I SAW MY PARENTS' FACES!! Crazy to think it's been over a month since I've seen them! And I saw Lauren Murray and her beautiful baby girl!! Ugh. So good. I hope the function was incredible (though I already know it was), it's so weird to think I'm missing it!
Once I updated the blog and such (no more withdrawal for at least a day or two, right?? :P), I headed back, ate dinner, played cards, and shared my grandma's cookies with the kids. They went nuts for them! I tried to ask which they liked best (sugar or banana) but they all said both and wouldn't pick one! Haha your love is being spread across the ages and cultures Gram :).
Then suddenly a bunch of grandsons of Mi Doña pulled up in a massive truck. They literally came in, attack hugged my host mother, told her they were hungry, ate a ton of rice, and left. Oh, and according to my little 10 year old, one of the grandsons is in love with me after 30 seconds. Because he gave me, "the eyes" which I failed to see hahahaha (I know Nate, I know).. They came and went but left a huge box here. It was filled with clothes, shoes, and bed sheets to sell. My Doña wasn't impressed with a few of them though and complained that no one would want to buy some because of the quality. I'm pretty sure it came from the states but how she got it and how she is going to sell it remains a mystery for now.
As we were sorting through it all, Nate, Bob, Amanda, Steve, and Ryan called!! And Amanda, you were right, the tears came after. And thank you Nate for reiterating that I sound like a man right now, I know. Goodness that was such a wonderful surprise! They were playing Bean Farmer and I'm completely jealous. Love you guys. Thank you so much for thinking of me and calling :).
After, I took a shower and got a spoonful of honey (totally not going to forget that word now!) from my Doña since I couldn't stop coughing. And tomorrow she is going to buy me a lemon to go with it :). She's the best. I've heard stories about Doña's and pushing Vick's Vapor Rub made into a tea onto volunteers...So, honey? Possibly with lemon? I'll take it! Buenas noches.