Car Antics

I spent several hours at a car dealership today getting my van checked out.

It was worth it, because I got great news. The car we got was a great deal, with no problems. In fact, I was told it is a super clean, well-maintained van in great shape. YAY! I got a few basic maintenance things taken care of, and our van is good to go.

Our "golden van," as Hazel calls it. (How else to describe the color champagne to a 4-year old?)

This whole process has reminded me of how we haven't been in the US for a while. There are things we have forgotten.

Like...

When we were purchasing our van, they asked us for a copy of our insurance card. We looked at each other and realized, oh yeah, car insurance. So we had to call and get insured before we could finish the purchase. Thankfully insurance can be had by a 30-minute phone call.

And then today while sitting in the waiting room, two women were chatting in Spanish and I realized I miss talking in Spanish. I'm afraid of how quickly my brain will forget Spanish. Eventually I ended up in the bathroom at the same time as the older woman and started chatting with her. We ended up chatting for quite a while until my car was ready. She told me all about her two sons, one a successful businessman who recently bought her an almost brand-new car, and her other son, who is addicted to drugs and alcohol. Sad story. It turned out, she doesn't speak English at all and was happy to have someone to talk to.

I'm wondering how to continue to use my Spanish. There are a lot of people in Oregon who have family members that come from Latin America, but they may not speak Spanish themselves. You can't assume one speaks Spanish, and there might be a preference to only use English. Something to continue to ponder.

On a really fun note, my Mom and stepdad built this gorgeous play kitchen as a gift to the girls. It's adorable and precious, and the girls absolutely love it. I can't wait to put it in our new apartment.

 

I love all the details. Chalkboard paint on the fridge. A real sink and faucet and a backsplash.

And the knobs for the stove and oven came all the way from Guatemala.

So many things to be thankful for in our first week back to the States.