Still Language Learning

Every once in a while I pull out my DuoLingo app on my phone. It's a great app for learning languages, in the form of a game against yourself. It's great practice for me and when I'm feeling frustrated with my Spanish I spend some time on it. I highly recommend it if you want to explore a new language.

Yesterday I had to laugh when I came across this sentence that I had to translate:

I've shared this story before, but three years ago during our first week in Spanish classes Michael was telling his teacher about the coches en la calle (the cars on the street) that made a lot of noise and kept us awake. His teacher kept laughing and finally explained. Coche, in almost every Spanish-speaking country, means car. But in Guatemala, it means pig. She thought it was funny to imagine all the loud pigs in the street keeping us awake at night. DuoLingo is not set to Guatemalan Spanish, apparently.

A new feature of DuoLingo that is new since I used it last marks my progress with this notice:

That feels about right. 3 years, 23% fluent. I think I'll hold off on publishing that to my LinkedIn profile.

On another Spanish note, Ellie has started learning to read and write and brings home quite a bit of homework every night. Today, part of her assignment said she needed to look up a word, popa, and draw a picture of it. She's been interested in the process of looking up words in our Spanish/English dictionary, so she helped me find the meaning of popa:

My guess is the teacher is going for the second meaning, so that's what she drew:

Lemons and Limes, a Guatemalan Spanish Mystery

I think I've written about the limon issue here, but let me tell you about it again, in case you missed it.

Before we came to Guatemala, we always understood the Spanish word for lemon to be limon, and the Spanish word for lime to be lima.

Apparently in Guatemala, it's different. Probably in other parts of Latin America too, but I haven't heavily researched this. We've explained to people the difference, because people here want to know. Yellow limes? How do they taste? How are they different? They just are. I mean, a lemon meringue pie is a lot different than a key lime pie, right?

During my Spanish classes two years ago I decided to make lemon scones with my teacher. She told me she had some limones at home that she would bring. I assumed they'd be big and yellow, but she showed up with little green limes. "Oh, limas," I said. "No, these are limones," was her response (all in Spanish of course).

Thus began my confusion. And discovery that there are no lemons here in Guatemala. I have no idea why. There are oranges and limes. No yellow lemons.

Today I found it funny to be eating chips that are lime flavored. Limon.

Yet the soda I was drinking was limon and lima. Finally! Proof to my Guatemalan friends that there IS a difference.


This is one of several reasons learning Spanish is so confusing.

Ruby Mayana's Dedication

Last night we got a phone call from our pastor, wanting to discuss a few details about this morning, Michael sharing in Sunday School about MCC work in Haiti, and Ruby's dedication in church.

Me: Ruby's getting dedicated tomorrow? How did I not know that?

Michael: We sat here and had a whole conversation about it the other day. (When the pastor, his wife, and another member of the church were visiting). 

Me: Wow, I totally missed that part of the conversation.

I can't imagine how I missed it, and am frustrated with my Spanish for having missed it, but maybe after conversing in Spanish for 2 hours it slipped through, or maybe (hopefully), I was having a side conversation and didn't catch it.

All to say, Ruby was dedicated this morning at our church.

Chapman Trivia: Ruby is the only one of our daughters who has been dedicated in a church. This is not because we didn't want to with the other girls, but somehow, in our time in Fresno, it never came up and time passed and neither were ever dedicated.

Before the dedication, during a time of open sharing, an elderly gentleman of 93 years shared that this would be his last Sunday attending church. Due to his age and the difficulty of traveling around and getting out of the house, attending church would no longer happen for him. I found it somewhat ironic (circle of life?) that the same day our church community was dedicating a new young life into the fold, another member was gracefully bowing out from regular attendance.

Ruby and Mario, age 93

Our family went up front, the pastor shared some words, and Michael and I made a vow/commitment to the church, and they returned the promise. The pastor blessed her, and prayed.

The closest we got to a family photo.

Alert and bright-eyed. 

My favorite part was after the prayer for Ruby, when our friend Elena walked around with Ruby, letting the church kiss and love on Ruby.

The presentation of Ruby to the church, and a request that the church come alongside us as parents.

Ruby did great throughout the whole presentation. She didn't cry or fuss, and was happy looking out at everyone. 

We're blessed to have been invited into this community. Moving is hard, as we've done countless times. Finding a community, especially a faith community is hard, and we've been blessed to have been welcomed here, despite language and cultural barriers.

Ruth Keidel Clemens, International Program Director for MCC US, is in Guatemala this month, and was able to attend Ruby's dedication. 

My other favorite moment was when a friend leaned over to me after the dedication, when Michael was holding Ruby, and told me how grateful she is that the other men in the church have the opportunity to watch Michael with Ruby. It's significant in a machismo culture that a husband and father is so involved and so comfortable with his children, especially three girls. It's something I can easily take for granted, how wonderful my husband is with our girls, because in the States our experience has been that most of our peers are much more involved than perhaps fathers were a generation ago. Here in Central America, however, it tends to be the exception more than the rule.

Our girls will be a part of several different communities in their lifetimes. I'm thankful this church has committed to helping us, as parents, with the role of teaching and guiding our daughters.

She's Here! (Ruby's Birth Story)

In keeping with tradition, I wanted to write out Ruby's birth story. Unlike Ellie's or Hazel's, there's not a lot of intense detail, as it ended up being a scheduled cesarean. 

We went in for a check-up on Monday, January 12. It was my 39-week check and an ultrasound. Everything had been looking good up to this point. I was very pleased with my weight gain overall, as I gained less than I did with either of the other girls and gained exactly in the range I had hoped for.

The doctor predicted she was about 7 and half pounds, and then paused to tell us that the cord seemed to be wrapped around her neck. I have to say that technology is so amazing. Using infrared technology, the doctor could detect where the blood flow was, and suddenly a bright orange cord showed up around the base of her head. Sure enough, the cord was around her neck.

We talked about our options. We had been planning on this last week for work and wrapping up details before my mom arrived that following Sunday. We had just found out that morning that the girls were supposed to start school THIS week, not the next like we thought (which meant we had school supplies to buy, paperwork to complete, etc.). The timing wasn't ideal (it never really is with babies). Given my history with long overdue babies, and bigger babies, and being induced every time, our doctor was concerned about what could happen if I went into labor with her cord wrapped around her neck. 

So of course we chose to do what would be best and safest for our baby. We scheduled the C-section for the next afternoon. I went outside and started panicking. I couldn't stop crying, for the sake of my baby's health, of course, and I couldn't stop worrying about what we'd do with Ellie and Hazel. We didn't have much of a back-up plan, and a C-section meant at least 2-3 nights at the hospital. 

Fortunately, we've been blessed with awesome neighbors and co-workers who all pitched in. We knew the girls were happy and safe and well-taken care of, and they got to stick to their routine of starting their new school, which we decided was best for them. 

So, Monday night we spent time calling family, writing out instructions for the girls, and getting details ironed out, like, finally choosing her name! On Tuesday morning we ran a few errands, finalized details at the girls' new school, and headed to the hospital. It was surreal to know that within a few hours, our baby would be here.

Me at 39 weeks, a few hours before we went to the hospital.

We checked in and got settled into our room. We realized it would be an interesting experience doing everything in Spanish. They wanted to know my height, in centimeters, and it took several of us and a calculator and conversion chart to finally calculate my height. Silly Americans not using centimeters. When it was time for me to head into the surgery room alone, it hit me what was about to happen. I laid there on the surgery bed, back exposed, waiting for the epidural, and I found myself cold and a little scared. It was hard to be dealing with everything in Spanish. I felt out of control, laying there, knowing there was nothing I could do but wait and hope and pray our little baby would come out safe. Our awesome anesthesiologist spoke English and loved using it with me. He talked me through everything and helped me feel included in the process. 

Being coached by the anesthesiologist. 

Her arrival. 4:00 PM.

My favorite moment was right after Ruby was born, when Michael put Ruby up next to my face. I was still strapped down, but our cheeks were touching. She was crying, and when I started talking to her, she stopped, turned her head towards me, and listened to my voice. We have a sweet video of this that I will always treasure. 

Ruby Mayana Chapman

born at 4:00PM on Tuesday, January 13, 2015 in Guatemala City, Guatemala. 8 lbs 1 oz. 

Ruby is a name we've always liked, and considered using it for Hazel.

For her middle name, we wanted a name that was a form of Marie or Maria or Mary, because she has a grandma Mary, a great-grandma Mary, and another great-grandma Marie, plus several other family members with a similar name. 

Mayana, at its roots comes from the name Mary, so it was a perfect pick.

My mom's middle name is Anita, a form of Ana. 

We also wanted a Guatemalan, Mayan, or Spanish connection, and Mayana contains "Mayan," an important cultural part of Guatemala and people we work with here.

I had been searching online for names and found this name a few days before she was born, despite our family thinking we had had a name picked out all along. 

Moments after birth.

Getting acquainted.

Tiny.

After her first bath.

When we had toured the hospital a few weeks earlier, we had been told that the hospital policy is that the baby can only be held by us and the nurses, and that if we ever have visitors the baby couldn't even be in the room with us. They also said that the baby would stay in the nursery all night long except if we wanted her for nursing. I had been upset at the time, because I wanted my girls and family to be able to meet Ruby at the hospital. Well, we're not sure how it happened, but this rule didn't seem to get enforced while we were there, which meant our girls got to come to the hospital and meet and hold Ruby. It was a special time, and I missed them so much I was happy I got to see my girls for a short time.

Some of my favorite pictures from their first meeting:

First family photo.

Big sister Hazel.

The three sisters. Pure Love.

Checking out little fingers.

Super proud oldest sister.

Hazel loves to kiss and hold her baby sister. Almost every picture I have of these two are of Hazel kissing Ruby.

Overall, we were proud of having had a baby in a Spanish-speaking hospital. It felt like we accomplished a big feat, especially for me, with my Spanish not being as strong as Michael's. There were only a few language misunderstandings, like when I accidentally said yes to getting sleeping pills instead of just pain pills.

It was interesting to be in a hospital where nursing a baby exclusively is not the norm, and is not understood, even by (or especially by) the nurses. We had to explain to them that we wanted her every few hours to feed her, even if it meant waking her up. A few times during the night we had to request that they bring her to us. The nurses just assumed we'd feed her whenever she woke up, which could be several hours. The norm here seemed to be to bottle feed during the night so the mother can rest, and maybe, if nursing at all, to nurse some during the day. They wheeled her out of the room every time she needed a diaper change, and wouldn't bring her back until we asked for her, which was frustrating, at times. 

Had this been my first baby, I may not have lasted more than a day or two with nursing. There was absolutely zero help or support in this area. Our experience in California was starkly different, with a lactation consultant on staff at the hospital, and our pediatrician taking specific time with us to make sure nursing was going well (and eventually clipping both Ellie and Hazel's tongues to aid with nursing). I think eventually the nurses gave up understanding us, and just mostly left us alone. They knew it was our third baby, or they may have been more pushy. 

It's been good to be home. We are adjusting to life with three. My mom has been here for over a week and it's been nice to have extra help. Ruby is sleeping and eating about every 3 hours at night. During her first week or so, only her Daddy could soothe her at night, unless she needed to be fed. She loves to be held, although fortunately she's getting more used to falling asleep without being held. 

One difference with the birth of our third is that because the girls go to school every morning, I'm actually able to rest and take some time for myself, something I could do after Ellie's birth, but was much more difficult with Hazel, as I was home full-time with both girls. 

As Ruby turned 2 weeks old yesterday, here are some highlights from her life so far:

So many snuggles lately.

Lots of photo opportunities. 

Ruby's first overnight outing was to Antigua. 

Michael got some funny looks with his bulky sweater.

Playing games and quality time with all three. 

Ruby couldn't have more proud sisters than these two.  

2 weeks old. Hazel is excited that Ruby can roll her tongue just like her and Mama.

Happy 2 weeks, Ruby Mayana!

Dancing, a New School, and Another Spanish Blunder

The girls had their Clausura (closing night) for their school a couple weeks ago. Usually these involve dancing and/or singing of some kind.

Ellie dancing with her class. There are 2 girls and 6 boys in her age group. 

It was held at 7:30 in a place pretty far away on a Friday night. It was pouring rain and both girls fell asleep in the car on the way there. Ellie woke up fine, but Hazel never seemed to snap out of it. I think she would have slept for the night, had we let her.

One of Ellie's little buddies.

The school sends us special notes all the time with reminders. For this Clausura we received instructions on what to wear. I thought I read it all correctly, and didn't take time to double check one of the Spanish phrases, but I was pretty sure I remembered the meaning from the last Clausura.

This is Hazel's class. Notice anything odd? Yes, she's in a totally different outfit than her classmates.
I read the note to mean Hazel was supposed to wear her tulle pink skirt and pink tights (and no mention of a shirt, so I went with white.)

As you can see from the picture, I was a bit off. She was supposed to wear a jean skirt, with a pink shirt and pink tights. Silly gringos. I blame the lack of commas on the list that added more confusion to the mix. Use your commas to separate listed items, people!!

For Ellie, we knew she was supposed to wear overalls, a yellow shirt, and a red bandana, but unfortunately I couldn't find overalls anywhere. We were close enough.

Compared to previous presentations, both girls have markedly changed. I was so happy Hazel wasn't screaming and crying for me during the whole song/dance that I didn't mind that she just stood there. Literally, just stood there. Doing nothing. Except standing. But not crying, so that was a win. I blame that on her interrupted sleep. Everyone kept asking us afterwards why she was so serious. I think she was doing it on purpose to protest being woken up.

The girls also received little diplomas to "graduate" to their next level. Hazel received a special award for "haber dejado los pañales," which means having quit wearing diapers.

Her one smile of the night. 

The girls are going to start a new school on Monday. It's a little bittersweet. Ellie has made a few buddies at this school, and that will be hard to leave behind. But, if you ask Ellie about her new school she gets giddy and excited and starts clapping. She's very excited.

The new school has a large outdoor space to play, unlike the current school, which is basically in a house with no yard. It is a much bigger school with more kids, and seems a bit more professional. There were 8 kids in Ellie's group this year, there will be 3 classes of 4-year olds next year. She's had several days where her one or two good friends aren't at school, and she tells me, sadly, with big puppy eyes, that she played by herself. I'm hoping that will be less likely with more kids.

I say it's bittersweet to leave the current school because this is where they started in Guatemala. Their first preschool/daycare, their first "home away from home." It is definitely special for that reason. The teachers have been sweet, and the girls have been well taken care of. For that, I'm eternally grateful. But, there's also been a high turnover rate of teachers, meaning both girls have had several teachers in the 18 months they've attended. They get attached and accustomed to a teacher, and one day, without warning, that teacher is gone. That's been frustrating at times.

The one teacher the girls have had throughout their entire time at this school.

The new school has a much higher retention rate of the teachers. At the minimum, they'll have the same teachers for one whole school year, and will probably have mostly the same classmates every year, which is also a change from the current school. It's also closer to our house, which means we could walk if we have to, another plus as Michael starts traveling more without the rest of us.

The new school is bilingual, which actually made me hesitant. I like that they've been immersed in almost 100% Spanish. (There has been some English in this school, but very limited). Hazel speaks "spanglish," with a huge emphasis on the Spanish. The majority of her common words and phrases are still Spanish, though she understands completely both English and Spanish. I worry a little that having more English at school might lower her Spanish skills, but I think I'm worrying too much. They still get plenty of Spanish at church and everywhere else. And in fact, it will probably be good for her to start counting and learning some other things in English.

We had a conference with their teachers today and they told us how intelligent and great our girls are (Bragging Mommy Moment). The one teacher who has been there since the girls started was reminding us of how both girls cried so hard their first few days they turned blue! We had assured them that it was something both girls did often, but I think it stuck in their minds. Now, they rush into school every morning, toting their backpacks and ready to see their friends, barely looking back at us to wave "adios." Ellie corrects the teachers when they try to speak in English! We've been blessed and it's obvious our girls are cared for, as the teachers get tears in their eyes talking about our girls leaving. But, we're ready for a change, and excited for our girls to get settled into a new place before baby sister arrives in January.

Profesional Spanish Student

Learning a second language is difficult. It can be frustratingly slow, and as I've said before, my confidence level comes and goes in waves, depending on the hour or day or who I'm talking to.

When we arrived to Guatemala last year, we took 2 months of intensive Spanish study. We had the disadvantage of not being able to live with a host family. The best way to learn a language is to truly be immersed. This wasn't feasible with two little ones, so we spent our afternoons studying, doing homework, and speaking to each other in English.

In our context, MCC will provide up to three months of language study. After our initial two months we had two weeks of orientation in Pennsylvania, followed by three weeks of orientation with the outgoing reps, and then we started working. I definitely could have used another month of Spanish.

I arrived with a very basic level of Spanish. I had taken 2 1/2 years of Spanish in high school, and even did well on the National Spanish Exam (for geeky Spanish students). But, more than ten years after high school, there was a whole lot I didn't know and more that I couldn't understand.

Fortunately, I've had the opportunity to take more Spanish classes throughout the last year. I took some classes last September. Then I took some more a few months later, followed by more in the Spring. After our first-year work evaluation with our bosses, it came to all of our attention that I needed more Spanish. It was humbling (even humiliating?) to admit that I needed to take even more classes. Finally, I took another chunk again over this summer, in between visitors and travelers and work schedules.

One of my biggest hindrances has been that I can go days without speaking Spanish. I do a good amount of reading and writing in Spanish, however. I need to continue to seek out places to practice my Spanish. Each round of classes over the last year has helped me focus on different aspects. I think I can finally say I'm done taking formal classes. I'm not sure I can afford any more time away from work, and I think my Spanish is at a level where I can continue to read and push myself on my own.

I'm ever so grateful for the flexibility and opportunities I've had to continue pushing through the frustrations and slow learning that I've had throughout the year.

4 out of the 5 teachers I've had throughout the year.

I have joked with the teachers at the school where I took classes that I've been an "estudiante profesional" (professional student). The staff and teachers there have been so supportive and lately have repeatedly told me how much they've seen an improvement compared to a year ago. I'm even considered an "advanced" student, something that makes me proud. I recently read another novel in Spanish, which I couldn't have imagined reading several months ago. I was even more proud of the fact that I could read several pages in between needing to look up a word in the dictionary.

I still have a lot to work on, but I have to remind myself that considering how little I sometimes hear and speak Spanish in my daily routine, I've come a loooooong way. I understand the majority of what most people say, and that improves daily. I feel more comfortable with different tenses and forms that don't translate in English.

And, the highest complement and note of progress came just the other day. A woman who we work with on banking stuff, and who I haven't seen or spoken to in several months, just paused in the middle of our conversation to tell me how good my pronunciation is. WOW! Big progress made here. I still pronounce things funny and need to keep working, but it made me feel like it's been worth the hard work.

I have a few Spanish novels sitting on my table, which I'm excited to read. Michael and I joined a young married persons' Bible study/discussion group, and of course, the book we are reading and the discussions we have are in Spanish. I think this means I'm advancing...

I'll end with some recent Spanish blunders. I know I have more, but I can't remember them at the moment:

-I meant to say "Donde pagamos?" (Where do we pay?), but I said, "Donde pegamos?, (Where do we glue?)

-"Necesito un mente," (I need a mind), when I wanted to say, "Necesito una menta" (I need a mint.)

-My teacher told me I need to be careful when I pronounce "pagina," (PA-hee-nah...page) because if I don't pronounce it correctly with the accent, it sounds like I'm saying (va-HEE-nah...vagina).

Ellie's Spanish Mishap

Every day after school I ask Ellie about her day. I don't get a report about what she did. Instead, I get a list of who was there.

Me: "Ellie, how was school today?"

Ellie: "Sofia. Isabella. No Mia. My friend Mio."

For months Ellie has been telling us about her friend "Mio" (pronounced Me-Yo).

We have been confused because we don't know anyone at school with that name, but she always insists that she has a friend named Mio, along with her best little buddy, Mia. We asked her teacher who confirmed that there's no boy with that name at school. We shrugged it off. We figured it must be something lost in translation.

A couple mornings ago we were talking about Ellie's friend, Jose Carlos. Ellie told us, "Jose Carlos is my friend. He always says 'mio.'"

Mio means mine.

And suddenly, it clicked. Jose Carlos IS "Mio!"

Michael and I had a really good laugh because we've been confused about this for months.

Mystery solved.

Horse Soup

Today I was telling my Spanish teacher about the soup I made last night.
She asked what the ingredients were and I told her, in Spanish of course:

Broccoli, red pepper, salt, pepper, cumin, mustard, and...horses.

I meant to say cebollas (onions) but I said caballos (horses) instead.

She looked at me, confused, and I immediately realized my mistake. We had a good laugh and I assured her I don't cook with horse meat.