Staying in Contact

A few weeks ago I had the wonderful opportunity to have a friend, Beto, from Irapuato come and visit.  Well, actually he came to visit his then girlfriend, now fiancé, to put a ring on her finger and make things official. But while he was there he got to stay with me,which means that I got to have full-length conversations in Spanish!  My how I had missed that.  When planning for Beto to come I had thought that we would have him sleep on the couch, but when he arrived and as I was about to explain to him the sleeping arrangements I had a though, what would a mexican do if they had me in their home.  They are so hospitable, and so I offered him my bed and I slept on the couch for the few nights he was there.  Late, on the night before we was to go home, we even got to play some Super Smash Bros together and I had tons of fun while my roommates laughed to here me jeering and crying out in Spanish while playing the video game.  Overall it was a wonderful week that really brought me back.  I had forgotten how much I had missed it.  I need to make sure that I have a good Spanish conversation at least once per week.

But one of the best parts of this experience was the chance that I had to send a note back with Beto to give to my host family.  I wrote about some of the experiences that we had shared together, including some of my lingual mistakes and crazy stories.  I had a little section addressed to each of them wherein I addressed some of the special times we had shared and asked questions about their lives and interests.  I am glad that I had that opportunity to remember them and the fun times that we had shared and, in a way, relive those moments with them.

I talked about the time I used completely incorrect words to apologize for the broken tile on their staircase.  I mentioned the teeth-brushing dance parties that I tried to instigate with my younger sisters, and the times where we shared favorite songs with each other.  I reminded them about how I was the most chicken of them all and didn't like watching all the scary movies that they like.  I assured them that I am still an avid superhero lover and a kid at heart.  I asked the kids about the games that they play and the friends that they had.  I, unfortunately, forgot to mention Psycho, their dog - a huge Rottweiler puppy that had absolutely no self control, haha, I would always say that he is psycho, and his name is Psycho too.  It was great to be able to reminisce about the summer while I wrote the letter to them.

I was happy to receive this notice on Facebook from Hermana Navarro the following Monday: 

"Querido ben ayer me hiciste llorar pero de felicidad, gracias por acordarte de nosotros, te amamos mucho y nos da gusto que estes feliz en tus estudios. me entregaron tu carta al empezar el sacramental y ya sabras todos querian saber que decia, daira,saul,etc... asi que la tuve que guardarl y al estar en la comida la saque y la lehi,nos reimos,te extrañamos,etc, etc, ojala pronto puedas venir te prometo hacer rica comida y claro montañas hawaianas,ja,ja,ja, te mando un abrazo con mucho cariño de parte de todos."

I'm so glad that I get to stay in contact with my host family.  They have become a special part of my life.