I’m at home alone with the housekeeper, Adela, right now, who talks to me in Spanish muy rapido even though she knows mi español es no bueno. Oh well, I guess it’s the best way to learn. I think I told her that a) the kids went to the hot springs with my friends, b) she only needs to change the sheets on my bed because the kids are still insisting on sleeping with me (yes, it’s crowded), and c) no, she won’t bother me if she cleans while I’m working. I have a magazine article to write while I have this extra quiet time, but I’m used to tuning out the noise, including people talking directly to me.
Yesterday, Norah and I went to the papeleria (paper store) on our street to have a couple of copies made and buy some envelopes (they’re sold individually). We met the owners – Miguel and Vero, and spent a few minutes chatting with Miguel, who noticed Norah’s Spanish and told her that he expects her to only speak Spanish to him. One of my hopes in coming to San Miguel was that the kids’ brains will switch to Spanish more quickly. They are used to speaking Spanish at school but on the street it takes them a few seconds to get into Spanish mode. Most of the people we’ve met here are trying to help me with this by forcing the kids to only speak to them in Spanish.
I told Miguel that we live on his street – we’re just a few houses up on the opposite side. I had already warned the kids not to blab our address to every Tom, Dick, and Pedro, so when Miguel asked which house I hesitated and he immediately said, “¿La casa amarilla?” (the yellow house). I said yes, and he said that he watches the neighborhood…everyone watches the neighborhood – not in a creepy way, in a “we’re watching out for each other” way. I asked him why there are always policia on our street and he said that it was because of the cars parked here. That makes a lot of sense, because cars aren’t allowed to park on the main street that is one street over, so a lot of people park here. We don’t have a car in San Miguel, but I still appreciate the extra vigilance while they’re watching for stereo snatchers.
Speaking of security, our property manager, Norma, came by yesterday to collect the rent and make sure we were doing ok. She didn’t volunteer to take the scorpion out of the washer, so Norah and I removed it with my new kitchen tongs and saved it for the kids to examine. Maybe we’ll keep it as a souvenir. Norma told me that she is going to have a security gate installed on the outside of our door, not because she is particularly worried about our security but because she has had them installed on all of the houses she manages. I think that will be nice, although it doesn’t comply with my egress standards. I already told the kids that in the unlikely event of a fire (everything here is masonry so once the plants and upholstery flame out there’s not a lot to burn), we’re heading for the roof, where we can escape to other rooftops.
Norah and I went to La Biblioteca Publica yesterday to get a library card, which cost 200 pesos ($12.50) for the year. There was so much going on while we were there…kids playing chess, teenagers taking an English class, ladies doing embroidery. It’s a real hot spot and we hope to get involved in some of the activities there. Norah found Harry Potter en español but decided to read Esperanza Rising in English first.
Our other big accomplishment of the day was to meet with the facilitator who will help us finish the process of getting our temporary resident visas. She and her husband drove us to get our pictures taken, and gave us lots of advice about San Miguel on the way. She will handle everything with Immigration and all we have to do is go in a few weeks to get fingerprinted. Her fee is about $300 but I think it will be well worth it. She and her husband are both very nice, professional, and knowledgeable about the immigration process and everything else about SMA.
Now back to work!
