Language Laughs

So we have lived here in Spain for nearly 3 years.  We have both passed the language exam.  We can communicate fairly accurate and understand most - albeit it at times grammatically incorrect.  So you would think by now we have a Spanish filter in our brains when we read signs in Spain.

But, oh so not true!

We were up north last week seeing the work of our teammates.  We wandered around a beautiful town named Gijón.  It is on the norther coast of Spain.  It has fresh seafood, as well as other great delicacies.

We saw a sign listing the menu of the day and it said "Tacos de Bonito."  Bonito is a type of fish and Scott proclaimed Fish Tacos.  We knew that was where we were eating lunch.  We even waited on a table, because our mouths were watering with the idea of fish tacos.  We knew they wouldn't be like California, but fish tacos - oh what a great taste from the USA.

We imagined:

We ate our first plate of fabadas - large white beans cooked with chorizo and other meats.  Very typical for the north.  We stopped before we finished the bowls because we wanted to be sure we had room for the fish tacos.  Our mouths were watering as the waiter cleared our bean bowls and prepared to bring our 2nd plate - Tacos de Bonito.

As soon as I saw the waiter heading our way I knew what had happened.  Our brains had malfunctioned.  Our filters were confused.  We translated one word, but not the other.  Tacos de Bonito does not translate to Fish Tacos.  It translated to this:

In Spanish, a taco is a cube, a plug, a wedge.  It is not a Mexican food. 

Scott and I laughed all day long about wanting Fish Tacos.  We enjoyed our "tacos" of fish, but boy were we surprised.  I just wonder, will the day ever come when the two languages don't cross in my brain?  Oh well, guess it is a good thing we can still laugh.

Back to School

No, the summer is not over quite yet - but the end is coming very quickly!  But for me, I begin my "job" at ECA (Evangelical Christian Academy) today.

ECA

ECA is a small Christian school that is based on the American school system.  It is located outside of Madrid and serves about 90 students, with the majority being MKs (missionary kids).  Almost all the teachers are missionaries and do not receive a salary from the school, but instead live off of faith partnerships just like we do.  Without this school, many missionaries would not be able to remain in Spain.  The Spain school system has many positives, but it is very different from the US system.  Graduates who want to return to the states for college would have a very hard time without a lot of extra supplement in the home.  Plus, if you arrive in your teen days, there is the whole language problem.

Last year I ended up teaching one class (12th grade English) to help in an emergency situation (a teacher had to leave the field suddenly due to a family crisis).  I was invited back this year, but in a totally different role.

Our primary role here in Spain remains church planting, but I will devote about 20% of my time to the school.  I will not be in the classroom this year, but instead working with new teachers in a coaching/mentoring atmosphere as well as planning professional development for the whole staff.   I love the process of education and the excitement of watching teachers become better teachers.   I believe in the power of education and its ability to change the world.  I also remember those first years in the classroom when I wondered what in the world I was thinking when I decided to become a teacher.  

John F Kennedy said "Our progress as a nation can be no swifter than our progress in education. The human mind is our fundamental resource."  I believe that quote.  I believe that education will be what transforms our nations and our world.  It is a great responsibility to teach, but it is also a fabulous privilege. 

My new role is excited because it is completely flexible.  I can come and go as I need and as things work around our primary ministry responsibilities.  I have no set schedule (I might drive the admin crazy at the school as they try to figure out when I will be there) and no deadlines.  This is beginning to feel like heaven!

The majority of my time will be with new teachers - teachers who are either new to teaching or new to teaching TCKs (Third Culture Kids - kids who have a home culture - for us America - living in another culture - for us Spanish - and create in reality a 3rd culture from the two - another blog post about this coming soon).  I get to serve as a coach/mentor to them.  I get to serve as a sounding board for questions, ideas, and frustrations.  I get to lead and direct conversations and discussions.  I get to encourage and comfort.  I get to celebrate and rejoice.  I get to have them all over to my house once a month.  Doesn't this job sound perfect for me?

Today is my first coaching session.  I can't wait! 

Beach Culture in Italy

I have learned to not be surprised by most cultural differences between not only the USA and Europe, but also between Spain and other countries, such as Italy.  I was prepared for language differences, food differences, driving differences, different dress codes, ... but I was not prepared for the huge difference in beach culture.

We spent today on one of the limited public beaches around Naples, Italy.  Most beaches are private and you pay for a chair and an umbrella on the beach.  With the beach being public I expected it to be more crowded (in US terms, not Spanish) and perhaps to see more differences in dress code (surprisingly, topless bathing did not exist at all).  What I did not expect was for the entire time on the beach to be in the midst of a moving vendors. 


All day different people selling different items were walking between the towels and umbrellas to offer their wares.  There were typical beach items such as floats, sand buckets, and towels, but the list kept going.  You could buy a bathing suit (uh, if you are at the beach, isn't it a little late?), sunglasses, and cover-ups.  OK - so maybe those are still in my "normal" perspective (being from Florida and Myrtle Beach areas).   But then it got different - how about a henna tattoo, or a knock-off designer purse, or a belt?  Clothes, fresh coconut, jewelry, CD's, roasted peanuts, phone covers, and bandannas?

Being that I am fair skinned and would turn into a lobster if I sat out in the sun all day, I enjoyed sitting under my umbrella and watching these vendors.  Nothing like "beach side service."

Beauty

We have seen some incredible sites here in Italy.  We have walked through ruins that are more than 2000 years old.  We have stared in amazement at the Sistine Chapel and St. Peter's Basilica in Rome.  But yesterday, as I donned my snorkel and mask and headed out into the Mediterranean I realized that man can never out build or create any beauty greater than that of God's. 

These pictures don't do it justice, although Scott did a fabulous job with photography.  The place is breathtaking and serene and just simply gorgeous! 

We had to hike down about 30 minutes and it never really crossed my mind how steep we were going.  We enjoyed a picnic, jumped off the ledge, we swam into a cove, we explored the crystal clear waters, and then returned to our car.  Uh - what goes down, must go up when it comes to hiking.  I thought I was gonna die!  But the beauty was worth the pain (which I am still feeling in my legs today)!

He Passed!

Whoever said Spanish was an easy language to learn must not have ever really studied it completely.  With 14 major verb tenses, a sentence structure opposite of English, a reflexive pronoun scheme that makes inanimate objects capable of doing things, a subjunctive tense for hopes, dreams, and wishes, and a double r that is supposed to be rolled, we have found that speaking Spanish well is one thing, speaking Spanish properly is a whole different story!

SEND requires us to reach a B2 level.  This means that we can (according to the test administrators):

• Understand the gist of complex texts about concrete or abstract themes, even technical texts, provided that they are within the candidates’ field of specialization.
• Interact with native speakers with sufficient fluency and spontaneity, so that communication does not constitute an effort for the interlocutors.
• Produce clear and detailed texts about diverse topics, as well as defend a point of view on general topics, stating the pros and cons of the different options.

It means we have reached a level of fluency that we can participate in activities that require public speaking - such as preaching and teaching.

 In terms most Americans with teenagers can understand, a student passing the AP Spanish Language and Culture exam would pass the B1 exam, although would have some of the skills required for B2.

This week with great trepidation we opened Scott's language scores and the words we wanted to see were there!

Translated:  The final grade is:  Passed!

We have now both passed the language exam and are deemed fluent, although we both know that there is still so much to learn in regards to speaking Spanish.  We can communicate and we can usually be understood, but we are not natives and will be learning for the rest of our lives!

Inquiring Minds Want To Know

We are still in Italy and will probably need a vacation to recover from this one - but we have seen more sights, walked more miles, and eaten more gelato and pizza than I imagined possible.  We are thoroughly enjoying our time both as a family and getting to know our new friends.  We cannot wait to show them Spain. 

We do not speak Italian, but I am amazed at the amount we can understand based on our Spanish. Of course, we probably understand just enough to get us in trouble.  We have also run into many Spanish speaking people and have been able to keep practicing our language.

It has been a while since I have written about how our financial support works and we have been asked about how this vacation was funded, so thought I would take a moment out and do a Partnership Refresher.

The financial partnerships we receive each month or year go straight to SEND (this makes them tax deductible and gives us greater accountability and stretches the dollar).  The partnerships are used to fund a variety of things, including our monthly salary - but NOT vacations.  Just like the rest of the working world, we have to budget and save and plan for our personal monthly expenses (food, clothing, utilities, gas, medical, taxes, ......) and big expenditures, such as a vacation to Italy. 

We began to plan for this trip about a year ago - although at that point we thought we were saving for a trip to France.  We cashed in credit card rewards (which we pay off each month), said no to a lot of other frills, and were faithful to set aside money each month. 

Next major savings item - Hannah's plane ticket home for Christmas (that is another personal expense, our partners do not pay for this either).

We are incredibly blessed by our financial partners and could not continue to be here without them!

Going on a Jet Plane!

We have lived in Spain for nearly 3 years and we have only left Spain a couple of times - we crossed the French border twice for a couple of hours and the Portugal border once for an hour and once for a weekend at a beach hotel.  We haven't really visited either of those countries, much less the rest of Europe.



But God has given us a tremendous gift through some our of financial and prayer partners.  One partner connected us with their daughter and son-in-law who lives near Naples, Italy.  After a ton of facebook messages we have planned a vacation exchange.  We are headed to Italy tomorrow and sometime in the fall or spring they will come here to experience Spain.  When you no longer have to pay for a hotel, can have breakfast in the house, and don't need a rental car the trip becomes quite affordable.  Airfares within Europe are reasonable and there are lots of discounts at museums for European Union residents, so we are off to Italy for 10 days.  This is definitely a gift from God!

We will be based in Naples for the majority of the trip, but will take a train to Rome for 2 nights.  We hope to see Pompeii and Vesuvius, the Amalfi Coast, either Ischia or Capri, and who knows what else we can get into. 

Our hope and prayer is that we make some lifetime memories, spend some quality and quantity time together, and have some time alone with God.  Watch for photos!  I know we are going to have a great time!