Late August Bounty

Today is the last day of August. It is raining and the air is cool. I should be studying.

We’ve been back in Vermont for almost a week and everything is green and lush and overgrown. The morning glories that I left a month ago have done their job and have grown up and over the staircase as I had imagined they would. When I left there might have been one flower. Now there are countless – mostly dark purple, but some white and pink and a few baby blues as well. I planted two different varieties. Then when they weren’t growing, I planted some more. They’re growing. They’ve grown. They’re happy.

Many of my neighbors have sunflowers. When we left a month ago they were just getting big, the taller ones at my shoulder height. Now they tower above me. My next door neighbor has ones that are towering over her shed with faces the size of giant pie plates.

My tomatoes are out of control. Who can eat so many cherry tomatoes? The day we arrived my upstairs neighbor, who had been watering my garden while I was away, had left a bowl of them on my counter. My parents and I ate them up. As you walked into the kitchen you’d just pop one into your mouth. They were sweet and tasted of the earth. But I have so many I’m feeling a bit overwhelmed! One carrot plant actually grew! But my peppers were shadowed by the insane tomatoes. I’m not sure how my beets and chard are doing, they too are overshadowed by the tomato bounty. I was thinking I’d work in the garden today, but the rain has other plans for me.

Isabel has started at pre-school. It’s right down the street, you could almost see it from our front steps. She has charmed all her teachers right away. The first day they said, “She’s so confident!” The second day they said, “Is she always so cheerful?” Haha. Today is bread making day at her school and so Isabel ran over to the table where they were kneading the bread and joined in right away. I love the atmosphere and I couldn’t be happier that she’s attending.

My horoscope this week said that this is a season of rebirth for me. And it strangely is. October 17 will mark one year in Vermont. After a year of putting myself back together, I feel ready to move forward.

Tomorrow I will climb a mountain

I’ve been in Spain for about a week. Most of that time has been spent in the province of Asturias, in the lovely city of Gijón. The first time I visited Asturias I thought we had driven into France while I had been sleeping. It’s green and lush and mountainous and nothing at all like the orange meseta of Castilla. I had the same sensation this last time as I drowsily looked out the window at the hot, flat land that constitutes my image of España– Dry, yellow and orange, fields of sunflowers here and there, square bales of hay, random ruins among the Encinas, which are short and green and fluffy and much smaller than our American counterpart, the stately oak.

And then, without any warning at all, suddenly you’re in the mountains and the temperature drops 10 degrees. El rio Luna running beside the highway.

Gijon was full of family. My daughter’s family, and I suppose they are mine as well, despite my decisions, of which I’ll save my thoughts. Isabel loved meeting her new cousin Pablo, loved running around and being loved by all her tia abuelas, loved having her older cousins chase her and tickle her. Her goma (Isabel couldn’t say Begoña, her abuela’s name when she was younger, so she’s goma) and her Tia Ana bought her flamenco shoes, red with black polka dots. She called them her shoes of baile and wore them any chance she got.

And then today, we drove to the airport where I hugged her so tightly and didn’t want to let go. She walked calmly and happily through the security gate with her father. She’s off to spend 10 days in Lanzarote with her father and abuelos, without me. Mixed emotions are an understatement.

After leaving them, I took the cercanias back to the center of Madrid, my second home. It’s hot and airless and August. I had some errands to run before my walk, some things to buy. My feet led the way as I retraced steps I used to take so so often. The city is the same, and yet different- isn’t that always the way– it sounds so trite, frankly.

On my second night in Madrid, I went to see an old friend play music and wound up having dinner with the band because of course the gig doesn’t start at 10. I was overjoyed to find they had ordered all my favorites, loved chatting in Spanish over boquerones en vinagre y acetunas y cañas. I left feeling alive and like myself.

After too long, I feel like me again.

Tomorrow I will start my second Camino. My first was full of questions and doubts and my overwhelming desire for a child. I’m not quite sure what I’m looking for this second time. As I said, I’m feeling like myself, confident and sane.

Of course my desire for love remains. But for now, I’ll be happy to love myself.

Self care. Self love. I’m such a freaking hippy.

Tomorrow I’ll cross the the Pyrenees.

Bilingual Baby

Me camina aqui

Of course, Isabel is hardly a baby any longer (boohoo!) but Bilingual Toddler just doesn’t have the same ring and when in doubt go for the alliteration!

Here we are 2 years and 2 months old and my daughter is constantly surprising me with the things she says. It’s amazing and wonderful and super interesting and if I had more brain power, I would totally use her as a research subject. As it is, I’m trying (and failing!) to remember to write down some of the more interesting things she says.

One of the biggest things that I’ve noticed in her language development is her use of chunking. Language teachers will probably recognize this term but for the rest of you, chunking is the concept of learning “chunks” of language, rather than word by word. So if you were teaching people who knew nothing of English, you might start with teaching them to say “Hello, How are you?” and then teaching them to respond “I’m fine, thank you and you”. In essence the student is learning the chunk of language as a linguistic whole rather than each individual word.

(And then when those same students arrive in your class as intermediate students and become confused if you ask “How’s it going?” or “What’s up?” or can only answer “I’m fine thank you and you” each time you ask “How are you?” you as a teacher feel an irrational rage at the mechanics of that stupid chunk of “I’m fine thank you and you.” And proceed to spend the next 20 minutes of class time teaching /drilling them other phrases (chunks) like “What’s up? Not much” or “What’s new? Not much” “How’s it going? Great!” “How’re you doing?” I’m OK/tired/awesome!” Anything other than the dreaded “I’m fine thank you and you”.)

Ahem, excuse that little aside. (But really, ask your friendly English language teacher about this and they’ll all agree).

So as I was saying – Isabel has been chunking and it’s pretty cool to see it in practice after studying Language Acquisition during my Master’s all those years ago.

Some of her everyday chunks are: Help you, Pick you up, cary you, I love you. And then she adds a modifier usually, but not always, at the end to indicate who or what is doing or receiving the action. For example – “help you me” usually means that she wants to help me, but “mommy, help you me” means that she wants me to help her. “Carry you me” means she wants me to carry her. And my favorite “I love you me” She loves me!

She does this in Spanish too. “ayúdame me” or “ayúdame daddy” and “No me gusta me” “Mommy no me gusta” (Mommy doesn’t like that). She pronounces the modifying “me” as an English me, but the Spanish object “me” in Spanish (which makes sense as she’s only heard it and can’t read yet).

Apparently talking on the telephone is a Spanish speaking activity. When play talking on her telephone the conversation is always the same. “Hola, ¿Como Estas? Bien. Bye Bye.” and repeat. and repeat. and repeat.

She is also mixing the two languages. Mostly she uses the structure and grammar of English but then slides in a Spanish word here and there, which leads to utterances like:

me camina aqui
mommy stand acá
ayúdame this
donde estas oink oinks (her slippers – they’re pigs)
now me see avión
bring pelota al parque
daddy come con me
daddy acompaño me
(the bag) too pesa
me hambre / me frio
me pon la mesa napkins

And more and more and more…. I’ll probably hit publish and think of (or hear) 10 better ones!

I am not alarmed or worried by the mixing and nor should you be dear reader. Frankly, I love it. I think it shows the flexibility of her growing brain. She uses the word that she knows. My reading and research on the subject tells me that as she get older the two languages will sort themselves out.

She also sings in both English and Spanish. One of her favorite songs to sing are the ABC’s, which she’s got down pretty well (which surprised me considerably!). But her favorite is “Tengo un Osito,” which we listen to daily, if not more. I cannot open Spotify and listen to any of my music without listening to osito first. “Osito Mommy!” she demands. Although she is a somewhat reasonable dictator. After requesting osito (and maybe a few more) she’ll say, “Now mommy songs.” Thanks sweetheart.

She can sing this one too.

22 Months Old

Long overdue Isabel update….

Isabel, at 22 months, has flown on an airplane about 14 times, traveled by train and bus and by car. She has run around Incan ruins, city squares, parks, and manicured museum gardens. She says “hola” and “hiya”; “bye bye” and “ciao ciao”. She can ask for “agua” and “more”; “cheese” and “palta” (avocado in Peru). She says “aqui” and “alli”; “arriba” and “abajo”. She says “mmm, good” and “rico”. She can demand to “walk” or “dance” or command you to “sit” or “sing”. She can offer to “help you” as well as ask for help by saying “help you”. (me and you are still pretty confusing).

Her favorite toys are her stuffed animal dog, named “Bow wow” and her “Dolly”. She loves writing with crayons; playing in her play kitchen; helping me in the real kitchen; helping me with laundry, folding clothes and then putting them away. She can sort of get her shoes on and off herself. As soon as she hears music, she starts dancing.

She still can’t jump. 😉

Here are a few photos of her running around Machu Picchu. (I have MANY more MP/Sacred Valley photos that I’ll get around to posting hopefully very soon):