Dante loves to draw.
When he comes into my room he always asks for my colored pencils, because he wants to color.
When he sees my mini orange notepad filled with paper, he makes a similar request.
Once he has a pen and paper in his hand, he will ask for requests, on what the people want to be drawn.
And he will give you a terse "no" at most requests.
He will draw you anything in the entire world, anything you request. That is, as long as your request is potatoes.
Showing posts with label dante. Show all posts
Showing posts with label dante. Show all posts
Monday, May 3, 2010
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
Get on with it!
This conversation recently occured when Dante was playing on the armchair and we were sitting to eat dinner...(translation below)
Dante: *crying* Quiero pinones! Damelos por favor?
Rocio: Vale.
Dante: *still crying* Pues, venga, vamos!
Dante: *crying* I want pinenuts! Will you give them to me please?
Rocio: okay. (continues dishing out her bowl of soup)
Dante: *still crying* Well, alright already, let's get on with it!
Dante: *crying* Quiero pinones! Damelos por favor?
Rocio: Vale.
Dante: *still crying* Pues, venga, vamos!
Dante: *crying* I want pinenuts! Will you give them to me please?
Rocio: okay. (continues dishing out her bowl of soup)
Dante: *still crying* Well, alright already, let's get on with it!
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
The Chupa has left the building.
On Saturday, Dante officially "ha dejado la chupa," or gave up his pacifier for good. His parents planned it for a while, but now they think he's too old to have it.
They took him to his cousin's house, who is an infant, and told Dante that they would give his little cousin all his chupas, since he is younger and needs them more. Dante was very mature about it and said it was okay, a bit proud to pass something down to him.
Of course, Rocio and Carlos gave Dante a Spongebob Squarepants stuffed animal (or, as they call him over here "Bob Esponja") to cushion the fall a bit. He cried a lot when he would need to go to bed, take a bath, or leave the house, but so far the transition has been okay. Bob Esponja has been lending his shoulder to Dante for some support in these rough times.
They took him to his cousin's house, who is an infant, and told Dante that they would give his little cousin all his chupas, since he is younger and needs them more. Dante was very mature about it and said it was okay, a bit proud to pass something down to him.
Of course, Rocio and Carlos gave Dante a Spongebob Squarepants stuffed animal (or, as they call him over here "Bob Esponja") to cushion the fall a bit. He cried a lot when he would need to go to bed, take a bath, or leave the house, but so far the transition has been okay. Bob Esponja has been lending his shoulder to Dante for some support in these rough times.
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Potty -Training a 2 yr old
Yesterday before I left for cooking class, I was going to use the bathroom. Dante saw me walking in the hall and ran to catch up with me.
There are no locks on the bathroom door (probably so Dante won't lock himself in), so I can't keep him out. I try to shut the door but he just enters, so I am not about to use the bathroom with him in the room.
Thing is, his parents let him in the bathroom when they go, most likely to make him not feel shy about using the big-person potty.
I am not quite as comfortable, so I eventually opt to wait to use the bathroom.
He grabs the step stool for the sink and carries it in the hallway to the front door and announces he will let me out. I give him my keys and he opens the door, but the step stool is in the way. He doesn't figure out that he has to move, just that it is really difficult to open the door. I pick him up and move him, but he won't let me touch the door handle because he wants to shut it.
After I go into the hallway, I reach to lock it from the outside, but he says he wants to do it. "No, Dante," I explain, "You can't lock it from the outside because then YOU will be locked out." He gets it finally, then nearly shuts the door.
But then he frowns and mumbles something, then I realize he is saying "Beso" (kiss). He has one hand on the doorknob, both feet on the step stool and brows furrowed as he leans in and gives me a big wet kiss on the cheek. Then he finally shuts the door.
___________________________
This morning when we got in the car to drive Dante to school, then Rocio and me to the University, Rocio announces that Dante woke up with a clean diaper and peed in the big people toilet! HURRRAHHHHH! I didn't understand completely what she said, but she either said "This is the first time since January that he's done that" or "I have been trying since January to get him to do this."
This is a big moment.
There are no locks on the bathroom door (probably so Dante won't lock himself in), so I can't keep him out. I try to shut the door but he just enters, so I am not about to use the bathroom with him in the room.
Thing is, his parents let him in the bathroom when they go, most likely to make him not feel shy about using the big-person potty.
I am not quite as comfortable, so I eventually opt to wait to use the bathroom.
He grabs the step stool for the sink and carries it in the hallway to the front door and announces he will let me out. I give him my keys and he opens the door, but the step stool is in the way. He doesn't figure out that he has to move, just that it is really difficult to open the door. I pick him up and move him, but he won't let me touch the door handle because he wants to shut it.
After I go into the hallway, I reach to lock it from the outside, but he says he wants to do it. "No, Dante," I explain, "You can't lock it from the outside because then YOU will be locked out." He gets it finally, then nearly shuts the door.
But then he frowns and mumbles something, then I realize he is saying "Beso" (kiss). He has one hand on the doorknob, both feet on the step stool and brows furrowed as he leans in and gives me a big wet kiss on the cheek. Then he finally shuts the door.
___________________________
This morning when we got in the car to drive Dante to school, then Rocio and me to the University, Rocio announces that Dante woke up with a clean diaper and peed in the big people toilet! HURRRAHHHHH! I didn't understand completely what she said, but she either said "This is the first time since January that he's done that" or "I have been trying since January to get him to do this."
This is a big moment.
Okay? Okay. Okay! OKAY!
The other day, Morgen called me after dinner. I was staring out the window in the family room, where Dante and Carlos were sitting.
Of course, Morgen and I were speaking English on the phone. She did most of the talking, so I was mostly saying "okay" over and over.
I turned around to look back at Carlos and Dante, and Dante had a huge grin on his face. He then started saying "Okay! Okay! Okay! Okay! Okay! Okay!" over and over again. He had no idea what he was saying.
Carlos was like: "Dante, sabes que significa okay? Es igual a vale, pero es la palabra en inglés." (Do you know what OKAY means? It´s the same as the word "vale", but in English)
Dante just kept repeating it over and over with a huge grin. It was super cute. Even when it started morphing into nonsense words, then eventually Carlos' nickname (koki). "Okay! okayokayokayokaykoh! kay! kayko! koki?"
Of course, Morgen and I were speaking English on the phone. She did most of the talking, so I was mostly saying "okay" over and over.
I turned around to look back at Carlos and Dante, and Dante had a huge grin on his face. He then started saying "Okay! Okay! Okay! Okay! Okay! Okay!" over and over again. He had no idea what he was saying.
Carlos was like: "Dante, sabes que significa okay? Es igual a vale, pero es la palabra en inglés." (Do you know what OKAY means? It´s the same as the word "vale", but in English)
Dante just kept repeating it over and over with a huge grin. It was super cute. Even when it started morphing into nonsense words, then eventually Carlos' nickname (koki). "Okay! okayokayokayokaykoh! kay! kayko! koki?"
Sunday, March 7, 2010
A love/hate letter to Lola, my host family's dog.
Dear Lola (my host family's dog),
I had high hopes for you. I really did.
At first I was disappointed that you simply existed when I found out my host family assignment. I didn't want to live with a dog! My friends said I would like you better than the 2 year old. I was doubtful of that claim. I knew that I would love the child more than you.
However, you didn't seem that bad at all. You made strange grunting noises when you breathed, but it was just plain funny. You were a little annoying when I would come home from school and you'd scratch at my brand new gray leather boots. But you made up for this typical dog behavior when I would leave again, and you would stand in the doorway, nearly getting your head stuck in the door because you didn't want to see me go. You even followed me around the house, and got so excited when I said your name.
Of all the dogs I have met in my life (and subsequently hated) you didn't do what they did. You never put your paws on my legs when I was sitting (you were too short, and too fat) and you never ate or chewed any of my personal belongings (yeah, I still remember that dog that chewed my 8th grade yearbook. To that dog: you've made my list). You never barked (except for the rare occasion there was something on TV that you didn't like). You never drooled. All you ever wanted to do was sit in the same room as me and sit on a blanket or piece of cardboard or Dante's counting mat to protect your butt from the cold marble floor as you looked like a cross between a person bobbing to sleep on a bus and a dog who's face was melting as you dozed off.
That's all you wanted to do. Follow me around the house, or sleep. It didn't matter where you slept, but it had to be somewhat warm. Warm, like the Alicante sun on a Sunday afternoon.
When I was in my room and you were on the patio, the sound of me rustling things around would draw you to my windowsill, where you would sit until you saw my acknowledgment.
Even your creepiness was charming, when at night I would go to my room at the end of the hall and you would stand in the hallway, the dim light outlining your silhouette as you watched me retreat to my room for the night and shut the door.
I loved you for all the times I would exit the bathroom into the dark hallway and get jolted out of my skin when you were lurking in the shadows, growling, or as you like to call it, breathing.
You had so many charms, and I had high hopes for you. That is until today, when you threw up on the living room floor.
I had high hopes for you. I really did.
At first I was disappointed that you simply existed when I found out my host family assignment. I didn't want to live with a dog! My friends said I would like you better than the 2 year old. I was doubtful of that claim. I knew that I would love the child more than you.
However, you didn't seem that bad at all. You made strange grunting noises when you breathed, but it was just plain funny. You were a little annoying when I would come home from school and you'd scratch at my brand new gray leather boots. But you made up for this typical dog behavior when I would leave again, and you would stand in the doorway, nearly getting your head stuck in the door because you didn't want to see me go. You even followed me around the house, and got so excited when I said your name.
Of all the dogs I have met in my life (and subsequently hated) you didn't do what they did. You never put your paws on my legs when I was sitting (you were too short, and too fat) and you never ate or chewed any of my personal belongings (yeah, I still remember that dog that chewed my 8th grade yearbook. To that dog: you've made my list). You never barked (except for the rare occasion there was something on TV that you didn't like). You never drooled. All you ever wanted to do was sit in the same room as me and sit on a blanket or piece of cardboard or Dante's counting mat to protect your butt from the cold marble floor as you looked like a cross between a person bobbing to sleep on a bus and a dog who's face was melting as you dozed off.
That's all you wanted to do. Follow me around the house, or sleep. It didn't matter where you slept, but it had to be somewhat warm. Warm, like the Alicante sun on a Sunday afternoon.
When I was in my room and you were on the patio, the sound of me rustling things around would draw you to my windowsill, where you would sit until you saw my acknowledgment.
Even your creepiness was charming, when at night I would go to my room at the end of the hall and you would stand in the hallway, the dim light outlining your silhouette as you watched me retreat to my room for the night and shut the door.
I loved you for all the times I would exit the bathroom into the dark hallway and get jolted out of my skin when you were lurking in the shadows, growling, or as you like to call it, breathing.
You had so many charms, and I had high hopes for you. That is until today, when you threw up on the living room floor.
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
First look at DANTE
Yes, that's right, his cuteness has been captured on camera.
The other day he wandered into my room eating the heel of a loaf of bread. I asked if he wanted to take a picture, and he said yes. He was fully prepared for the picture, so I don't know what the deal is with the look of confusion.
Also, you can see his scar on his forehead from the emergency room visit.
And I believe chocolate is what is all over the rest of his face.
The other day he wandered into my room eating the heel of a loaf of bread. I asked if he wanted to take a picture, and he said yes. He was fully prepared for the picture, so I don't know what the deal is with the look of confusion.
Also, you can see his scar on his forehead from the emergency room visit.
And I believe chocolate is what is all over the rest of his face.
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
On the radio again, TWO TIMES...and in other news, Dante goes to ER
Today, Wednesday the 17th, I will be live once again in the "generation y" program that is an hour long run by some kids from the university. Today I join them in their discussion about tobacco and smoking, and the new smoking ban.
The whole thing you can hear at 1pm Chicago time at radiosanvicente.com streaming live. Click on the link "escuchanos" at the top of the page.
The discussion part of the segment regarding smoking is around 1:15pm.
And TOMORROW you can hear at 6:40am Chicago time my personal radio segment that I write every week, this one being about this past weekend's celebrations of Carnaval and Valentine's Day.
I will post the audio from the Carnaval/V-day segment, but the other one is part of an hour long segment, so I don't have any copy of that for you to hear.
But I can tell you this: the first time it was my turn to speak, I start talking about something completely different but have to ramble on towards a point b/c I can't rely on trailing off like I normally do when it's recorded live. The question was regarding kids buying tobacco, and I start off my response with the idea that tobacco should be illegal period, along with some awkward dialogue, and then smacking the microphone stand to make awkward noises all while the spanish university students stare at me intently.
And in other news:
Last night I met with my "under the table" intercambio Carlos, who I met at the English school I teach at. So I invited him to come to my friend's place to watch SKINS with us (a british TV show that I happen to have on my computer, with spanish subtitles) and he loved it. We had a nice chat afterward in spanish, but we spoke english mostly before that.
Tomorrow I meet with my "real" intercambio (number two) that I was pretty much forced to take b/c the USAC office had an abundance of spaniards who signed up. So this one is a girl, and I will meet her tomorrow. Since I never met her before, she told me she will be wearing a black coat, jeans, and she has brown hair and brown eyes. Gee, thanks, Ana Maria, you and EVERY OTHER SPANIARD HERE. So this should be fun picking her out. What is she gonna say next? That she will be wearing boots and smoking? That could SURELY pick her out of a crowd.
Also, my host dad Carlos (confusing, with the two carlos', I know) just told me that Dante fell today at school and had to go to the ER to get stitches. He said it was minor, but he somehow just hit his head when he fell. He'll be fine. I mean, I am surprised this hasn't happened already the way he wobbles around on steady ground, let alone stairs. Or when he takes plastic chair and tries to sit on it on the sofa. He is lucky that this only happened once.
The whole thing you can hear at 1pm Chicago time at radiosanvicente.com streaming live. Click on the link "escuchanos" at the top of the page.
The discussion part of the segment regarding smoking is around 1:15pm.
And TOMORROW you can hear at 6:40am Chicago time my personal radio segment that I write every week, this one being about this past weekend's celebrations of Carnaval and Valentine's Day.
I will post the audio from the Carnaval/V-day segment, but the other one is part of an hour long segment, so I don't have any copy of that for you to hear.
But I can tell you this: the first time it was my turn to speak, I start talking about something completely different but have to ramble on towards a point b/c I can't rely on trailing off like I normally do when it's recorded live. The question was regarding kids buying tobacco, and I start off my response with the idea that tobacco should be illegal period, along with some awkward dialogue, and then smacking the microphone stand to make awkward noises all while the spanish university students stare at me intently.
And in other news:
Last night I met with my "under the table" intercambio Carlos, who I met at the English school I teach at. So I invited him to come to my friend's place to watch SKINS with us (a british TV show that I happen to have on my computer, with spanish subtitles) and he loved it. We had a nice chat afterward in spanish, but we spoke english mostly before that.
Tomorrow I meet with my "real" intercambio (number two) that I was pretty much forced to take b/c the USAC office had an abundance of spaniards who signed up. So this one is a girl, and I will meet her tomorrow. Since I never met her before, she told me she will be wearing a black coat, jeans, and she has brown hair and brown eyes. Gee, thanks, Ana Maria, you and EVERY OTHER SPANIARD HERE. So this should be fun picking her out. What is she gonna say next? That she will be wearing boots and smoking? That could SURELY pick her out of a crowd.
Also, my host dad Carlos (confusing, with the two carlos', I know) just told me that Dante fell today at school and had to go to the ER to get stitches. He said it was minor, but he somehow just hit his head when he fell. He'll be fine. I mean, I am surprised this hasn't happened already the way he wobbles around on steady ground, let alone stairs. Or when he takes plastic chair and tries to sit on it on the sofa. He is lucky that this only happened once.
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
Regalos!
Last night I was up really late doing homework in the family room when Carlos came in holding this box-like toy. It's made out of that fabric and plastic ring to make it pop up, like a tent. And it's in the shape of a cube (2x2x2 feet), with a little "oven" with velcro door, a sink with a fabric drain plug, and a stovetop. They bought it for him b/c originally it was 70 euros but it went on clearance for TWO euros. They bought it immediately.
As soon as I saw it, I thought to myself "Yet another place for Dante to store his toy cars that he loves so much."
They also bought the same type of fabric cube in the shape of a washing machine, and then they bought one of those rubber balls that has a handle that you can sit on and bounce.
I was so excited for the moment that Dante saw these gifts. He didn't see them until after he got back from school and daycare, around 7pm.
First they showed him the stove and he just started grabbing everything. As he would touch the parts of the oven/stove, Rocio and Carlos told him what the parts were called.
(Dante grabs the door) Rocio: The oven door!
(Dante grabs the sink) Rocio: The sink and the drain plug!
(Oven knobs) Rocio: The knobs to turn it on and off!
Dante would repeat each part after her.
Then, Carlos started joking "Are you gonna make us dinner? Make some coffee, perhaps a snack of bread and honey? Howabout you do the dishes."
My favorite part was when he pointed to the painted-on stove burners (which are circles) and was like "LOOK! A rectangle! And look! Another rectangle!" And Carlos was like "Those are circles, dude."
Then Rocio asked him if he wanted to see his new washing machine, which was in his room. He kept saying no, until she asked if he wanted to show me the bouncy ball. As we walked down the hall, Rocio asked if he wanted to see the "lavadora" (washing machine). He said yes. He went in and was so excited, and he shouted "HOLAVADORA" (combining hola and lavadora), opening and closing the door of the washer over and over again, and twisting the knobs.
Soon to come: update on my intercambio, the radio, and hike to the mountains (and pics)
As soon as I saw it, I thought to myself "Yet another place for Dante to store his toy cars that he loves so much."
They also bought the same type of fabric cube in the shape of a washing machine, and then they bought one of those rubber balls that has a handle that you can sit on and bounce.
I was so excited for the moment that Dante saw these gifts. He didn't see them until after he got back from school and daycare, around 7pm.
First they showed him the stove and he just started grabbing everything. As he would touch the parts of the oven/stove, Rocio and Carlos told him what the parts were called.
(Dante grabs the door) Rocio: The oven door!
(Dante grabs the sink) Rocio: The sink and the drain plug!
(Oven knobs) Rocio: The knobs to turn it on and off!
Dante would repeat each part after her.
Then, Carlos started joking "Are you gonna make us dinner? Make some coffee, perhaps a snack of bread and honey? Howabout you do the dishes."
My favorite part was when he pointed to the painted-on stove burners (which are circles) and was like "LOOK! A rectangle! And look! Another rectangle!" And Carlos was like "Those are circles, dude."
Then Rocio asked him if he wanted to see his new washing machine, which was in his room. He kept saying no, until she asked if he wanted to show me the bouncy ball. As we walked down the hall, Rocio asked if he wanted to see the "lavadora" (washing machine). He said yes. He went in and was so excited, and he shouted "HOLAVADORA" (combining hola and lavadora), opening and closing the door of the washer over and over again, and twisting the knobs.
Soon to come: update on my intercambio, the radio, and hike to the mountains (and pics)
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
DANTE TIME!
Some great Dante moments as of late:
I had my backpack on the floor in the corner of the family room the other day when Dante saw my cell phone sitting on top. He wobbled over to it and saw me watching him, then picked up the phone, rotated it 90 degrees, then set it back down again. I have noticed this is his behavior all the time with my phone: he either picks it up and rotates it, or he picks it up and moves it 3 inches then sets it down again. I have no clue why.
At lunch the other day...
Dante: Quiero agua. (I want water)
Rocio: Si. (she pours him water)
Dante: Quiero jamon (i want ham)
R: (passes him the ham)
D: Quiero mas comida. (I want more food)
R: (she puts more food on his plate)
D: Quiero...cerveza (I want beer)
R: No, no no no...es la cerveza de mama.(No, it's mom's beer)
D: quiero cerveza! (I want beer!)
R: Toma mas agua. (here, take some more water.)
After lunch the other day, Rocio was enjoying a cup of coffee. The sugar bowl was on the table, which Dante spotted and immediately he requested: "Quiero azucar!" Rocio laughed and made a face like "like hell you are eating a spoonful of raw sugar," as she moved the sugar bowl to the other side of the table. Rocio and I were chatting about something, and Dante was playing with his toy cars. He stared at us talking, then did a lap around the table and said "Mama aqui, y Melissa aqui (mom here, and Melissa here) pointing to our seats in which we sat, respectively. Rocio responded with a "si." Then, as she turned to continue our chat, Dante (who had planned this sneak attack all along) started going for the sugar bowl. Rocio spotted it and took the sugar as he was an inch away from obtaining it.
Dante was coloring on some paper with his markers when he picked up the yellow one, took the cap off, then held it with both hands, perfectly straight up in front of his face. He slowly approached Rocio, repeating "Look! Look!" She was like "Yes, I see, the pretty yellow!" Then he was about 5 inches from her face when she realized he was coming so close in order to draw on her face. She laughed and grabbed the marker, saying he couldn't draw on her like they do in school (they have had a body painting unit the past couple weeks). After he cried a bit and after she explained that she wasn't mad at him, she rolled up her sleeves and let him draw on her.
Dante: (eyes wide, with an inquiring face) Te pinto? (can I draw on you?)
Rocio: Si, carino. (Yes, honey.)
He then proceeded to take full advantage of the opportunity, going to town with the green marker all over her forearms.
When it was time for dinner the other day, I found Dante five inches away from the TV, pressing the eject button on the DVD player and watching the tray slide in and out, over and over again. I grabbed his hands to lead him to the dinner table, and he said "NO!" and slowly laid down on the floor with his knees bent. He then used his heels to push him backwards, sliding on the floor on his back.
During lunch today, Dante's food was hot and his dad instructed him to blow on it. He would do these short bursts of air, almost near hyperventilation, until it was cool enough to eat.
I found his little ball-popper toy in the hallway on the floor, so I picked it up. Dante was walking towards the dining room, so I took the popper and rolled it towards him, kind of chasing him. He kept looking behind himself at the toy, grinning at whatever game we were playing. I chased him around the 3 foot diameter coffee table about 20 times before I had to stop because I was getting really dizzy. He LOVED it.
After I came home from my cooking class, Dante was eating dinner in the kitchen: tiny noodle stars with butter or something. They were all over his face, some noodle stars even were under his eye, or near his temple. I love how he eats so haphazardly. Later, when he got up, there were some noodles stuck to his pants behind his right ankle.
Rocio, who was out for the night, called Carlos on his phone. Carlos handed it to Dante, who picked it up and had the following conversation:
Dante: Ma-MA!
Rocio (you can hear her on the other end) Si, Carino (yes honey)
Dante: ma-MA!
Rocio: Si, carino.
D: Ma-MA!
R: Si, carino, que quieres (what do you want)
D: Ma-MA! (he then took the phone off his ear, brought it to the front of his face, and yelled MAMA into the receiver five or six more times until Carlos took it back)
After his dinner, Dante followed me to my room, where he grabbed his favorite thing: my house keys. He sat there playing with them for a while, until he suddenly looked at me and asked ...
Dante: Tienes hambre? Has comido? Quieres comer? (Are you hungry? did you eat? Want to eat?)
Me: No, he comido en la clase de cocina. He hecho la comida. (No, I ate in cooking class. I cooked the meal)
Dante: Has...has...has hecho la comida? (Did you, did you, did you make the food?)
Me: Si, he hecho la comida. (yes, I made the food)
Dante: Has hecho la comida? (you made the food?)
Me: Si, he hecho la comida. (yes, I made the food)
I love when Dante acts like the host of the household.
While in the kitchen, Dante took his empty cup and held it up to his mouth and shouted into it "MELISSSSSSAAAAAAAAAAAA" and kept doing so until I responded with a deep "DANTEEEEE", to which he responded with a grin and a squealing giggle.
He had one of those party blowers that makes noise and unfurls a piece of paper, and he just honked and honked in the kitchen, scaring the crap out of Lola, who was frantically looking for an escape.
Once he was done with the party noisemaker, he told Lola he just wanted to give her a kiss. He got on his hands and knees and tried to catch Lola so he could kiss her. Traumatized by the previous noise, she was running in circles around him. Dante tried to crawl and catch up to her but was way too slow. He at one point grabbed her tail while she wailed in pain, but she wriggled free. The best part is that the kitchen is about 12 by 5 feet wide, so this was all happening in a fairly tiny space. He started getting upset, repeatedly saying "I JUST WANT TO KISS YOU, LOLA!" I was dying of laughter. Finally, Carlos yelled at Lola to sit. Lola, hesitant and fearful, stood still, then warily sat down. Dante leaped onto her, grabbing her body and kissing her side. Lola wriggled free once again, leaving Dante to fall over.
Finally, after playing (and by playing I mean "picking up various objects and moving them around the room) in my room, Carlos came in to tell him it was time for bed. I have never seen Dante get so upset to part with me! He started crying and saying how he didn't want to say "hasta manana" (until tomorrow) to me, and he wanted to keep playing.
Today was a good day.
I had my backpack on the floor in the corner of the family room the other day when Dante saw my cell phone sitting on top. He wobbled over to it and saw me watching him, then picked up the phone, rotated it 90 degrees, then set it back down again. I have noticed this is his behavior all the time with my phone: he either picks it up and rotates it, or he picks it up and moves it 3 inches then sets it down again. I have no clue why.
At lunch the other day...
Dante: Quiero agua. (I want water)
Rocio: Si. (she pours him water)
Dante: Quiero jamon (i want ham)
R: (passes him the ham)
D: Quiero mas comida. (I want more food)
R: (she puts more food on his plate)
D: Quiero...cerveza (I want beer)
R: No, no no no...es la cerveza de mama.(No, it's mom's beer)
D: quiero cerveza! (I want beer!)
R: Toma mas agua. (here, take some more water.)
After lunch the other day, Rocio was enjoying a cup of coffee. The sugar bowl was on the table, which Dante spotted and immediately he requested: "Quiero azucar!" Rocio laughed and made a face like "like hell you are eating a spoonful of raw sugar," as she moved the sugar bowl to the other side of the table. Rocio and I were chatting about something, and Dante was playing with his toy cars. He stared at us talking, then did a lap around the table and said "Mama aqui, y Melissa aqui (mom here, and Melissa here) pointing to our seats in which we sat, respectively. Rocio responded with a "si." Then, as she turned to continue our chat, Dante (who had planned this sneak attack all along) started going for the sugar bowl. Rocio spotted it and took the sugar as he was an inch away from obtaining it.
Dante was coloring on some paper with his markers when he picked up the yellow one, took the cap off, then held it with both hands, perfectly straight up in front of his face. He slowly approached Rocio, repeating "Look! Look!" She was like "Yes, I see, the pretty yellow!" Then he was about 5 inches from her face when she realized he was coming so close in order to draw on her face. She laughed and grabbed the marker, saying he couldn't draw on her like they do in school (they have had a body painting unit the past couple weeks). After he cried a bit and after she explained that she wasn't mad at him, she rolled up her sleeves and let him draw on her.
Dante: (eyes wide, with an inquiring face) Te pinto? (can I draw on you?)
Rocio: Si, carino. (Yes, honey.)
He then proceeded to take full advantage of the opportunity, going to town with the green marker all over her forearms.
When it was time for dinner the other day, I found Dante five inches away from the TV, pressing the eject button on the DVD player and watching the tray slide in and out, over and over again. I grabbed his hands to lead him to the dinner table, and he said "NO!" and slowly laid down on the floor with his knees bent. He then used his heels to push him backwards, sliding on the floor on his back.
During lunch today, Dante's food was hot and his dad instructed him to blow on it. He would do these short bursts of air, almost near hyperventilation, until it was cool enough to eat.
I found his little ball-popper toy in the hallway on the floor, so I picked it up. Dante was walking towards the dining room, so I took the popper and rolled it towards him, kind of chasing him. He kept looking behind himself at the toy, grinning at whatever game we were playing. I chased him around the 3 foot diameter coffee table about 20 times before I had to stop because I was getting really dizzy. He LOVED it.
After I came home from my cooking class, Dante was eating dinner in the kitchen: tiny noodle stars with butter or something. They were all over his face, some noodle stars even were under his eye, or near his temple. I love how he eats so haphazardly. Later, when he got up, there were some noodles stuck to his pants behind his right ankle.
Rocio, who was out for the night, called Carlos on his phone. Carlos handed it to Dante, who picked it up and had the following conversation:
Dante: Ma-MA!
Rocio (you can hear her on the other end) Si, Carino (yes honey)
Dante: ma-MA!
Rocio: Si, carino.
D: Ma-MA!
R: Si, carino, que quieres (what do you want)
D: Ma-MA! (he then took the phone off his ear, brought it to the front of his face, and yelled MAMA into the receiver five or six more times until Carlos took it back)
After his dinner, Dante followed me to my room, where he grabbed his favorite thing: my house keys. He sat there playing with them for a while, until he suddenly looked at me and asked ...
Dante: Tienes hambre? Has comido? Quieres comer? (Are you hungry? did you eat? Want to eat?)
Me: No, he comido en la clase de cocina. He hecho la comida. (No, I ate in cooking class. I cooked the meal)
Dante: Has...has...has hecho la comida? (Did you, did you, did you make the food?)
Me: Si, he hecho la comida. (yes, I made the food)
Dante: Has hecho la comida? (you made the food?)
Me: Si, he hecho la comida. (yes, I made the food)
I love when Dante acts like the host of the household.
While in the kitchen, Dante took his empty cup and held it up to his mouth and shouted into it "MELISSSSSSAAAAAAAAAAAA" and kept doing so until I responded with a deep "DANTEEEEE", to which he responded with a grin and a squealing giggle.
He had one of those party blowers that makes noise and unfurls a piece of paper, and he just honked and honked in the kitchen, scaring the crap out of Lola, who was frantically looking for an escape.
Once he was done with the party noisemaker, he told Lola he just wanted to give her a kiss. He got on his hands and knees and tried to catch Lola so he could kiss her. Traumatized by the previous noise, she was running in circles around him. Dante tried to crawl and catch up to her but was way too slow. He at one point grabbed her tail while she wailed in pain, but she wriggled free. The best part is that the kitchen is about 12 by 5 feet wide, so this was all happening in a fairly tiny space. He started getting upset, repeatedly saying "I JUST WANT TO KISS YOU, LOLA!" I was dying of laughter. Finally, Carlos yelled at Lola to sit. Lola, hesitant and fearful, stood still, then warily sat down. Dante leaped onto her, grabbing her body and kissing her side. Lola wriggled free once again, leaving Dante to fall over.
Finally, after playing (and by playing I mean "picking up various objects and moving them around the room) in my room, Carlos came in to tell him it was time for bed. I have never seen Dante get so upset to part with me! He started crying and saying how he didn't want to say "hasta manana" (until tomorrow) to me, and he wanted to keep playing.
Today was a good day.
Saturday, January 30, 2010
bad dreams:sad::ice skating:happy
I was in the family room area with Carlos and Rocio, while Dante was napping in their room, and I heard some quiet tapping noise. I get up and turn on the light in the hall, and it is just what I thought: Dante hurriedly running in the dark hallway towards the family room on the verge of tears. I am pretty sure he had a nightmare. Carlos quickly ran into the hall and swept him up and handed him his "chupa" (pacifier). He quietly sobbed in Carlos' arms, then Carlos took him to sit on the sofa chair. Dante quietly sucked on his pacifier as he calmed down.
Eventually, Dante got up and laid on Rocio, who was napping on the couch. She woke up and wrapped the blanket around him and they cuddled. It was so adorable. Carlos continued watching TV while Rocio and Dante laid quietly on the couch, until Dante perked up at a TV show that Carlos flipped to. Dante, as usual when it comes to television, zoned out, mystified by the moving pictures. It was partner figure skating ("patinaje" en espanol).
Every time the partners would do jumps or acrobatics like flipping upside down, Dante had this huge grin on his face. Like I've mentioned before, when Dante likes something, he just grins and screams/squeals at it. He did this earlier when he was attacking Lola (the dog) with his push-and-pop roll-y toy.
(Imagine a 2 yr old child traumatizing a 2 yr old puppy by aggressively and repeatedly ramming this toy into it as he laughs maniacally)
He grinned and laughed and squealed for a good half hour. Carlos, Rocio and I especially liked the Matrix routine (2 people dressed as The Matrix characters and skating to a soundtrack song) when the girl did a flip over the man (who was laying down) and was an inch away from spearing his forehead with her ice skate.
After watching happy ice skating for an hour or so, you could tell Dante felt much better.
Eventually, Dante got up and laid on Rocio, who was napping on the couch. She woke up and wrapped the blanket around him and they cuddled. It was so adorable. Carlos continued watching TV while Rocio and Dante laid quietly on the couch, until Dante perked up at a TV show that Carlos flipped to. Dante, as usual when it comes to television, zoned out, mystified by the moving pictures. It was partner figure skating ("patinaje" en espanol).
Every time the partners would do jumps or acrobatics like flipping upside down, Dante had this huge grin on his face. Like I've mentioned before, when Dante likes something, he just grins and screams/squeals at it. He did this earlier when he was attacking Lola (the dog) with his push-and-pop roll-y toy.
(Imagine a 2 yr old child traumatizing a 2 yr old puppy by aggressively and repeatedly ramming this toy into it as he laughs maniacally)
He grinned and laughed and squealed for a good half hour. Carlos, Rocio and I especially liked the Matrix routine (2 people dressed as The Matrix characters and skating to a soundtrack song) when the girl did a flip over the man (who was laying down) and was an inch away from spearing his forehead with her ice skate.
After watching happy ice skating for an hour or so, you could tell Dante felt much better.
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Dante Quote of the Day
"Vamos a cenar! Dante! Y Mama! Y Papa! Y...Melissa! Y Mama! Y Dante! Y Papa! Y Mama! Y Dante!"--Dante, on eating dinner and who was participating.
Monday, January 18, 2010
Te ayudo.
Dante rolled slowly into the family room with his tricycle, after coming back from shopping with his parents. He was still wearing his coat and pacifier.
He just pulls the bike up and this is the conversation (translation in parentheses)
Dante: Tengo calor. Tengo calor. (I'm warm! I'm warm!)
Me: Como? (hmm?)
Dante: Tengo calor. (I'm warm.)
Me (laughs) Quieres quitar la chaqueta? (wanna take off your coat?)
Dante: Uh, YEAH. ( i laughed at this)
Me: te ayudo? (need help?)
Dante: si. (yes.)
(dante pulls at his coat, but there is a button still keeping it on)
Me:aqui, aqui. (here, here)
(I undo the button, and he shakes the coat off and leaves it on the floor.I pick it up and put it on the couch)
Me: Que bien! no necesitas ayuda, puedes hacerlo sin ayuda! (good job! you didn't need help, you can do it without my help!)
Dante just smiled behind his pacifier.
He just pulls the bike up and this is the conversation (translation in parentheses)
Dante: Tengo calor. Tengo calor. (I'm warm! I'm warm!)
Me: Como? (hmm?)
Dante: Tengo calor. (I'm warm.)
Me (laughs) Quieres quitar la chaqueta? (wanna take off your coat?)
Dante: Uh, YEAH. ( i laughed at this)
Me: te ayudo? (need help?)
Dante: si. (yes.)
(dante pulls at his coat, but there is a button still keeping it on)
Me:aqui, aqui. (here, here)
(I undo the button, and he shakes the coat off and leaves it on the floor.I pick it up and put it on the couch)
Me: Que bien! no necesitas ayuda, puedes hacerlo sin ayuda! (good job! you didn't need help, you can do it without my help!)
Dante just smiled behind his pacifier.
It only kills your liver, no big deal.
The past week or so I have had a bit of a cold. I thought it was just allergies or something, but it turned into swollen tonsils (which really aren't that big of a deal since I get them ALL THE TIME). Since I am technically enrolled as a student at the University of Alicante, I can benefit from their free health care provided by the school!
So I went to the equivalent of a wellness center on campus (I have never been to one at Loyola, so I don't know what it's like back in the states) which seemed very professional. There were 3 or 4 doctors there, wearing lab coats, thin-framed glasses and fuzzy-grey Santa beards, so you know they were legit. After a little bit of a wait, I had my turn.
By the way, originally Luis (the program director for USAC) was going to take me and the other kid (who had a high fever for a couple days) to the doctor, but he was less familiar with what I had so he insisted Larissa take us (another USAC office worker) in case there was anything "private" or "womanly" that needed to be explained in Spanish. I insisted that all I had was a sore throat and a runny nose, but he insisted Larissa go.
So I let Larissa come into the room with me so I could communicate better with the doctor and in turn understand his instructions. He looked in my throat and said I had a small cold, not related to allergies. I told him that I lived with a little boy who seemed to have a runny nose and cough, so I probably caught it from him. He seemed to agree. He wrote me a prescription for this medicine that dissolves in water, told me to take it 1, 2 or 3 times a day depending on how I felt, and then I was done.
Apparently I didn't need the prescription. Larissa said it wasn't necessary, but with a written prescription it would be cheaper.
So onward to the pharmacy part. I walked in to the nearest pharmacy (they are on every street, marked by a large neon green flashing cross) and it smelled like cigarettes.
Cigarette smoke is something you love to smell in a place of health.
So I gave her the prescription and she got me the tablets. Then she asked if I needed anything else, so I got ibuprofen to ease the swollen tonsils (I assumed the other prescription meds were antihistamines for the nose and watery eyes). Then I got Kleenex (by the way, I have yet to see BOXES of kleenex anywhere! only little purse packets!), and some stuff called Lysopene or lizopene or something that are these minty tablets that relieve a sore throat (like cough drops). And it all was only 10 euro.
These tablets I got with the prescription need to be dissolved in water, and they are just like alka-seltzer tabs. But instead of putting it in 8oz of water like the instructions say, I put it in about an ounce of water and down it like a shot. Who wants to drink 8 oz of disgusting fizzy lemon water with a ton of small sips? This is a lot less painful.
So I was taking those tabs, along with the ibuprofen I got, with breakfast for the next few mornings.
I didn't get a chance to talk with my mom (who is a nurse) about these drugs I was taking, so I just took them once a day. I felt a little better, and I didn't have as much of a runny nose.
But then I talked with my mom, and figured out what I was taking. The fizzy tabs were the equivalent of acetaminophen, one gram. That one tab I took with breakfast was the equivalent of two extra-strength Tylenol tabs, or almost 4 regular Tylenols.
And the ibuprofen I was taking was the equivalent of three regular advils.
So I was waking up in the morning, eating breakfast, and taking three advils and four tylenols.
After I figured that out, I only took the ibuprofen.
I talked with my friends about it and asked them what they think would happen if one took too many painkillers like that. Mike said with a laugh, "it just wreaks havoc on your stomach and liver. No big deal."
And also I have been drinking coffee on occasion. The coffeemaker in my host family's house makes one cup at a time. I have been pressing it to make one full cup of coffee, only to realize that that is 4 espressos, or four whole cups of coffee.
Luckily my host parents have been making me normal cups up until recently.
But I am sure that's great for the stomach, too.
So I went to the equivalent of a wellness center on campus (I have never been to one at Loyola, so I don't know what it's like back in the states) which seemed very professional. There were 3 or 4 doctors there, wearing lab coats, thin-framed glasses and fuzzy-grey Santa beards, so you know they were legit. After a little bit of a wait, I had my turn.
By the way, originally Luis (the program director for USAC) was going to take me and the other kid (who had a high fever for a couple days) to the doctor, but he was less familiar with what I had so he insisted Larissa take us (another USAC office worker) in case there was anything "private" or "womanly" that needed to be explained in Spanish. I insisted that all I had was a sore throat and a runny nose, but he insisted Larissa go.
So I let Larissa come into the room with me so I could communicate better with the doctor and in turn understand his instructions. He looked in my throat and said I had a small cold, not related to allergies. I told him that I lived with a little boy who seemed to have a runny nose and cough, so I probably caught it from him. He seemed to agree. He wrote me a prescription for this medicine that dissolves in water, told me to take it 1, 2 or 3 times a day depending on how I felt, and then I was done.
Apparently I didn't need the prescription. Larissa said it wasn't necessary, but with a written prescription it would be cheaper.
So onward to the pharmacy part. I walked in to the nearest pharmacy (they are on every street, marked by a large neon green flashing cross) and it smelled like cigarettes.
Cigarette smoke is something you love to smell in a place of health.
So I gave her the prescription and she got me the tablets. Then she asked if I needed anything else, so I got ibuprofen to ease the swollen tonsils (I assumed the other prescription meds were antihistamines for the nose and watery eyes). Then I got Kleenex (by the way, I have yet to see BOXES of kleenex anywhere! only little purse packets!), and some stuff called Lysopene or lizopene or something that are these minty tablets that relieve a sore throat (like cough drops). And it all was only 10 euro.
These tablets I got with the prescription need to be dissolved in water, and they are just like alka-seltzer tabs. But instead of putting it in 8oz of water like the instructions say, I put it in about an ounce of water and down it like a shot. Who wants to drink 8 oz of disgusting fizzy lemon water with a ton of small sips? This is a lot less painful.
So I was taking those tabs, along with the ibuprofen I got, with breakfast for the next few mornings.
I didn't get a chance to talk with my mom (who is a nurse) about these drugs I was taking, so I just took them once a day. I felt a little better, and I didn't have as much of a runny nose.
But then I talked with my mom, and figured out what I was taking. The fizzy tabs were the equivalent of acetaminophen, one gram. That one tab I took with breakfast was the equivalent of two extra-strength Tylenol tabs, or almost 4 regular Tylenols.
And the ibuprofen I was taking was the equivalent of three regular advils.
So I was waking up in the morning, eating breakfast, and taking three advils and four tylenols.
After I figured that out, I only took the ibuprofen.
I talked with my friends about it and asked them what they think would happen if one took too many painkillers like that. Mike said with a laugh, "it just wreaks havoc on your stomach and liver. No big deal."
And also I have been drinking coffee on occasion. The coffeemaker in my host family's house makes one cup at a time. I have been pressing it to make one full cup of coffee, only to realize that that is 4 espressos, or four whole cups of coffee.
Luckily my host parents have been making me normal cups up until recently.
But I am sure that's great for the stomach, too.
Saturday, January 16, 2010
Top Four Cute Things Dante Did Today
4. He walked in the room, quietly sucking on a pacifier. He stared at me working on the computer and looked at the screen for a few seconds. Then my face, then the screen, then my face. Then he wobbled to the table next to me, took my phone, stared at it, then brought it to me and put it on the armrest of the chair. Then he wobbled back out of the room, all without one word.
3. Charlotte's Web came on TV when we were eating lunch. Normally he is very happy and energetic during lunchtime, and he talks and screams. But he was so intrigued by this movie that he slowly slid out of his chair, then walked over to the arm chair (eyes glued to the screen) and sat down. He sat there sucking on his pointer finger, watching intently. Carlos thought it was so amusing that Dante was so quiet, so he started doing things that Dante would normally do. There would be a cow on the screen and he said "Mira! Dante! Mira! Ves la vaca!? Si?!" (Look! Do you see the cow?!) And he kept doing it for every animal on the screen. Dante stayed in a trance-like state, fully amused by the talking pig and the spider who could write words.
On a side note, when they showed the rat named "Templeton" my host parents asked me if it was his first or last name. I said I didn't know. They asked me if it was more of a traditional first or last name or if I knew anyone with that name. I told them it was very weird and that I had never heard it before. They seemed really intrigued by the rarity of this name.
2. His dad was getting ready in the bathroom to go out, putting on cologne and doing his hair. Dante opened the door and walked in, pointed to his new Frog-shaped inflatable tub sitting by the shower, then told me "Mira! Mira" (Look! Look!) His dad told him to get out so he could finish getting ready. I started walking back down the hall, then Dante comes out and says "Mira! Mira!" then holds out a finger. I was like "What, your finger?" Then he just swiped it across his forehead, and left a blatant white streak of face lotion. Then he just left it like that and continued walking around the house with a white streak on his face.
1. Before he went out with his parents, he walked into the room, and simply said to me "Adios, me voy a la calle." (Bye, I am going out.) Then he left.
3. Charlotte's Web came on TV when we were eating lunch. Normally he is very happy and energetic during lunchtime, and he talks and screams. But he was so intrigued by this movie that he slowly slid out of his chair, then walked over to the arm chair (eyes glued to the screen) and sat down. He sat there sucking on his pointer finger, watching intently. Carlos thought it was so amusing that Dante was so quiet, so he started doing things that Dante would normally do. There would be a cow on the screen and he said "Mira! Dante! Mira! Ves la vaca!? Si?!" (Look! Do you see the cow?!) And he kept doing it for every animal on the screen. Dante stayed in a trance-like state, fully amused by the talking pig and the spider who could write words.
On a side note, when they showed the rat named "Templeton" my host parents asked me if it was his first or last name. I said I didn't know. They asked me if it was more of a traditional first or last name or if I knew anyone with that name. I told them it was very weird and that I had never heard it before. They seemed really intrigued by the rarity of this name.
2. His dad was getting ready in the bathroom to go out, putting on cologne and doing his hair. Dante opened the door and walked in, pointed to his new Frog-shaped inflatable tub sitting by the shower, then told me "Mira! Mira" (Look! Look!) His dad told him to get out so he could finish getting ready. I started walking back down the hall, then Dante comes out and says "Mira! Mira!" then holds out a finger. I was like "What, your finger?" Then he just swiped it across his forehead, and left a blatant white streak of face lotion. Then he just left it like that and continued walking around the house with a white streak on his face.
1. Before he went out with his parents, he walked into the room, and simply said to me "Adios, me voy a la calle." (Bye, I am going out.) Then he left.
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
"One, Two, Three! Ah Ah Ah."--The Count
Dante is only two years old, but he can count almost to twenty. I don't know if this is spectacular or not, since I haven't worked with super young kids before.
Anyways.
The cutest part about it is he ALWAYS skips number 7, 11, 13, and 14. ALWAYS. When walking up stairs, playing with his cars, eating, or whenever he practices counting, it's always...
uno, dos, tres, cuatro, cinque (he says this instead of cinco, which is wrong but cute), seis, ocho, nueve, diez, doce, quince! Yay!
(1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10, 12, 15! YAY!)
Adorable.
Anyways.
The cutest part about it is he ALWAYS skips number 7, 11, 13, and 14. ALWAYS. When walking up stairs, playing with his cars, eating, or whenever he practices counting, it's always...
uno, dos, tres, cuatro, cinque (he says this instead of cinco, which is wrong but cute), seis, ocho, nueve, diez, doce, quince! Yay!
(1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10, 12, 15! YAY!)
Adorable.
If my world were a musical...
Who am I kidding? It practically is with all of these songs that are sung around the house for Dante to do things.
One example is sleep time:
A la cama, con Dante! A la cama, con Dante! (time for bed, with Dante)
(when they happily sang this after dinner, Dante just broke down to tears because he didn't want to go...it was kind of funny because it was so spontaneous)
Eat time:
A comer, a comer... (and other lyrics...that are about eating)
Cleaning up after playing:
...todo tiene su lugar!...(everything in its place)
As well as an abundance of other songs that I hear Dante sing with his mom in his room or when playing. Sometimes when he is playing with his toys alone, he'll sing to himself. Not songs, but just singing instead of talking. He'll just sing things like "the car goes into the garage! The red one, the blue one, the green one!"
One example is sleep time:
A la cama, con Dante! A la cama, con Dante! (time for bed, with Dante)
(when they happily sang this after dinner, Dante just broke down to tears because he didn't want to go...it was kind of funny because it was so spontaneous)
Eat time:
A comer, a comer... (and other lyrics...that are about eating)
Cleaning up after playing:
...todo tiene su lugar!...(everything in its place)
As well as an abundance of other songs that I hear Dante sing with his mom in his room or when playing. Sometimes when he is playing with his toys alone, he'll sing to himself. Not songs, but just singing instead of talking. He'll just sing things like "the car goes into the garage! The red one, the blue one, the green one!"
Sunday, January 10, 2010
Un día increíble
Today was EVENTFUL!
See, I knew this whole "doing nothing" thing would change after the other students returned from Madrid.
So, just like I went on the Madrid tour last year, some of the students in the program this year went, too. Today was the day they got to meet their landlords or their host parents. In San Sebastian, we just went from our hotel (from orientation) straight to the houses/apartments via taxis. Here, it was a huge production. Luis, the program director, would announce a student's name, then introduce them, in front of the group, to their host parents. It was pretty funny, because the first girl went to her host mom and hugged her for a full minute, squeezing her like she missed her so much (when in actuality, this was the first time they ever met!). I technically didn't have a reason to be there, since I obviously already know my host family, but I wanted to see some of the other students in the program.
So, I went to this meeting in hopes that I wouldn't stand out so much as an americana in the streets of Alicante. To accomplish this, here is what I had to wear...my knee-high heeled boots with dark jeans tucked in, my hair down and curly, and my red plaid jacket, a wool version of this one:
So european. And guess what!? No weird stares that scream "you are SO americana." Only stares from lecherous men.
But when I was waiting at the flower shop for the USAC kids to arrive, i chatted with my host mom (in spanish of course) and when the kids arrived and were asking around, I spoke spanish to them. I think that some of them thought I was spanish. I think my clothes were just THAT GOOD. Plus I think they were confused that I said I was living in Alicante already (if only for 2 days).
But anywho, Rocio and I walked home with a host mom who lives close with a student from USAC. Tomorrow we'll meet up to walk to the flower shop again to take a bus to campus.
For lunch, Rocio made paella. And I watched. I will be an EXPERT by the time cooking class begins! She thought it didn't turn out well because the rice was a but hard. But i thought it was wonderful. And PS to my parents: what you should get for a souvenir is a paella. That is the pan paella is made in.
Then, as she was cooking, her friend (that she met through a friend), a Cuban girl who lives a few blocks away, came over for lunch. It was nice to meet new people. Especially because she is young and very pretty: ERIC, attention. And she is a physics or a science teacher for a special school for slower students. Pardon my wording...I spoke a LOT of Spanish today sin descanso and the translations to english to spanish to english are a bit weird.
Then, after Rocio, carlos, y Suyin (la chica) ate, Dante came home with his aunt (maria) and uncle (javi) who he'd been spending time with all day in the mountains to see the snow. They showed us pictures and Dante was throwing the snow and having a great time in all of them. When he gets really excited and happy, he stomps in place and then screams with a grin. In some of the video the aunt took on the camera, Dante was doing just this. And he was so cute: he didn't know that the snow was so cold, so he would throw it, then shake his hand violently to try and get rid of the cold feeling. And i don't know what would be the translation of this in English, but apparently he was calling the snow "blanco" instead of "blanca" (la nieve is feminine, so the adjective needs to end in an 'a'), which rocio thought was cute.
When the guests were over, they were all talking about the snow (the news channel was on). Let me digress for a moment: the people are reacting crazily to the snow in Spain. Like, of the two days of news I have watched on TV, about 70% has been about the snow in various parts of Spain. Either there is no important news, or this is the most important news EVER. The same footage they have shown for the past few days.
Suyin thought it was especially funny that there was footage of San Sebastian in La Concha (the name of the main beach) where there was snow on the sand, and people were skiing, but then in the background you can see people surfing. I think everyone has seen this footage by now, because even the woman who lives down the street with the USAC student mentioned it. I think from the way news dedicates its coverage to the topic of snow so much, everyone who has watched the news in the past WEEK has seen this.
Then, after lunch, around 5 or so, we went to a friend's birthday party. I was really excited when Rocio invited me, because first of all I would have been bored as hell waiting at home, and secondly, I wanted to see other little kids and converse with more people.
So we went to the party, which was outside of Alicante (so we drove). Dante passed out in his little car seat, his poor little head whipping around at every bump. We flipped between a few stations on the radio, one of which was the sound of broken glass and a train. I don't understand it. It was just a long recording of someone breaking glass, then it transitioned to a train on tracks, then we went to another station for a while, then came back to it and it was still a train noise. Rocio said there was different kinds of music, and this was just broken glass and trains. I don't really know if I would regard that as music, but it was interesting to listen to.
We arrived at the house and the party was in the basement, where there were about 12 kids of ages 1 to 9 or so. The birthday boy was turning 2. And I am pretty sure he NEVER spoke. And he was staring at me most of the time. With the not talking thing, it was kinda creepy. His paleness contributed to the creepiness.
But Dante was having a great time, playing with the birthday boy's gifts, like the mickey mouse rolling backpack. He just carried it around in circles, then rolled it around in circles, then when it (and he) fell on the ground, he just clutched the bag really close, rolling around on the ground.
The kid also had lockable rollerskates like this, with spiderman on them:
And the spaniards call him SPEE-dur-man.
And Dante called the skates (which are patines) patones, even after his mom kept correcting him. so cute.
But Dante loved those, even though he needed his mom's help to skate around. He wouldn't take them off. And then he found the toy cars. (he has 20 or so here at home) He got really excited, and when he gets excited with the toy cars, he parks them. No, he isn't like a normal kid who wants to roll them, race them, ride them, make them go all over the place. No. He loves toy cars so he can park them. He even has a toy parking garage for them. No, not a race track. A parking garage. So tranquil.
There was a girl there, about 5 or 6, who had her dog with her, a baby version of Lola (my host family's dog). Like, super tiny. And she carried him around EVERYWHERE. Rocio kept saying "pobrecito perro!" (poor dog) because the kids just kept chasing it and picking it up and putting it in baskets and grabbing it and screaming its name (which was Bob by the way) over and over again. The dog was beyond exhausted. And the way they pronounce Bob is more like "bow" as in, tying a bow, but with a b at the end. Like Bohb. Not Bahb. Bohb.
So the kids are chasing this little guy:
yelling "bohb! bohb! bohb! bohb! bohb!"
After a while, me being me, I was playing with the little kids' sand art, which by now was one brownish pink color that they were pouring into a bear-shaped bottle. I was helping scoop the sand with them when Carlos and Rocio said jokingly "melissa wants to stay...she likes it here!"
I also learned that they speak a second language here in Alicante, much like they speak Basque in San Sebastian. Here it is called Valenciano. And I found out that the people from Valencia only call it this, even though it is the exact same as Catalan (the second language in Barcelona, which is a mix of French and Spanish). Weird, right?
Then at dinner tonight, I asked how many students they have hosted and they said I was the 5th or 6th one. The girl who was here when I was in San Sebastian was named Julianne, and I actually have met her! And we took a picture together!
(that's her in the middle!)
I only knew Kristen and Josh (the girl I am very affectionately sitting next to, and the only boy in the picture), but when they came to visit San Sebastian last year, they brought some friends. One of which was the ex-student who lived with my current host family. Weird!
After dinner I got to play with Dante and Darth Tater. I made a game of it by holding up a body part, then asking him which one it was. I held up the tongue and was like "what is this? an eye? an arm? a foot? A nose? a tongue?" and he would respond to all of them "no," even tongue, so I would say another body part and come back to tongue, giving him a chance to say the correct one. But no, he just said no all the time until I would just say "yo dante, it IS a tongue."
Also, I learned that Rocio and Carlos each have more than one cell phone. Phone plans are expensive, so they bought one phone that has cheap calls in the evening, and one with cheap calls during the day, so they can make cheap calls all the time!
And thinking about and talking about my semester abroad makes it seem so much closer than it really was, which is weird. I feel like the summer and fall just disappeared, and it was only a month ago when I was in SanSe.
See, I knew this whole "doing nothing" thing would change after the other students returned from Madrid.
So, just like I went on the Madrid tour last year, some of the students in the program this year went, too. Today was the day they got to meet their landlords or their host parents. In San Sebastian, we just went from our hotel (from orientation) straight to the houses/apartments via taxis. Here, it was a huge production. Luis, the program director, would announce a student's name, then introduce them, in front of the group, to their host parents. It was pretty funny, because the first girl went to her host mom and hugged her for a full minute, squeezing her like she missed her so much (when in actuality, this was the first time they ever met!). I technically didn't have a reason to be there, since I obviously already know my host family, but I wanted to see some of the other students in the program.
So, I went to this meeting in hopes that I wouldn't stand out so much as an americana in the streets of Alicante. To accomplish this, here is what I had to wear...my knee-high heeled boots with dark jeans tucked in, my hair down and curly, and my red plaid jacket, a wool version of this one:
So european. And guess what!? No weird stares that scream "you are SO americana." Only stares from lecherous men.
But when I was waiting at the flower shop for the USAC kids to arrive, i chatted with my host mom (in spanish of course) and when the kids arrived and were asking around, I spoke spanish to them. I think that some of them thought I was spanish. I think my clothes were just THAT GOOD. Plus I think they were confused that I said I was living in Alicante already (if only for 2 days).
But anywho, Rocio and I walked home with a host mom who lives close with a student from USAC. Tomorrow we'll meet up to walk to the flower shop again to take a bus to campus.
For lunch, Rocio made paella. And I watched. I will be an EXPERT by the time cooking class begins! She thought it didn't turn out well because the rice was a but hard. But i thought it was wonderful. And PS to my parents: what you should get for a souvenir is a paella. That is the pan paella is made in.
Then, as she was cooking, her friend (that she met through a friend), a Cuban girl who lives a few blocks away, came over for lunch. It was nice to meet new people. Especially because she is young and very pretty: ERIC, attention. And she is a physics or a science teacher for a special school for slower students. Pardon my wording...I spoke a LOT of Spanish today sin descanso and the translations to english to spanish to english are a bit weird.
Then, after Rocio, carlos, y Suyin (la chica) ate, Dante came home with his aunt (maria) and uncle (javi) who he'd been spending time with all day in the mountains to see the snow. They showed us pictures and Dante was throwing the snow and having a great time in all of them. When he gets really excited and happy, he stomps in place and then screams with a grin. In some of the video the aunt took on the camera, Dante was doing just this. And he was so cute: he didn't know that the snow was so cold, so he would throw it, then shake his hand violently to try and get rid of the cold feeling. And i don't know what would be the translation of this in English, but apparently he was calling the snow "blanco" instead of "blanca" (la nieve is feminine, so the adjective needs to end in an 'a'), which rocio thought was cute.
When the guests were over, they were all talking about the snow (the news channel was on). Let me digress for a moment: the people are reacting crazily to the snow in Spain. Like, of the two days of news I have watched on TV, about 70% has been about the snow in various parts of Spain. Either there is no important news, or this is the most important news EVER. The same footage they have shown for the past few days.
Suyin thought it was especially funny that there was footage of San Sebastian in La Concha (the name of the main beach) where there was snow on the sand, and people were skiing, but then in the background you can see people surfing. I think everyone has seen this footage by now, because even the woman who lives down the street with the USAC student mentioned it. I think from the way news dedicates its coverage to the topic of snow so much, everyone who has watched the news in the past WEEK has seen this.
Then, after lunch, around 5 or so, we went to a friend's birthday party. I was really excited when Rocio invited me, because first of all I would have been bored as hell waiting at home, and secondly, I wanted to see other little kids and converse with more people.
So we went to the party, which was outside of Alicante (so we drove). Dante passed out in his little car seat, his poor little head whipping around at every bump. We flipped between a few stations on the radio, one of which was the sound of broken glass and a train. I don't understand it. It was just a long recording of someone breaking glass, then it transitioned to a train on tracks, then we went to another station for a while, then came back to it and it was still a train noise. Rocio said there was different kinds of music, and this was just broken glass and trains. I don't really know if I would regard that as music, but it was interesting to listen to.
We arrived at the house and the party was in the basement, where there were about 12 kids of ages 1 to 9 or so. The birthday boy was turning 2. And I am pretty sure he NEVER spoke. And he was staring at me most of the time. With the not talking thing, it was kinda creepy. His paleness contributed to the creepiness.
But Dante was having a great time, playing with the birthday boy's gifts, like the mickey mouse rolling backpack. He just carried it around in circles, then rolled it around in circles, then when it (and he) fell on the ground, he just clutched the bag really close, rolling around on the ground.
The kid also had lockable rollerskates like this, with spiderman on them:
And the spaniards call him SPEE-dur-man.
And Dante called the skates (which are patines) patones, even after his mom kept correcting him. so cute.
But Dante loved those, even though he needed his mom's help to skate around. He wouldn't take them off. And then he found the toy cars. (he has 20 or so here at home) He got really excited, and when he gets excited with the toy cars, he parks them. No, he isn't like a normal kid who wants to roll them, race them, ride them, make them go all over the place. No. He loves toy cars so he can park them. He even has a toy parking garage for them. No, not a race track. A parking garage. So tranquil.
There was a girl there, about 5 or 6, who had her dog with her, a baby version of Lola (my host family's dog). Like, super tiny. And she carried him around EVERYWHERE. Rocio kept saying "pobrecito perro!" (poor dog) because the kids just kept chasing it and picking it up and putting it in baskets and grabbing it and screaming its name (which was Bob by the way) over and over again. The dog was beyond exhausted. And the way they pronounce Bob is more like "bow" as in, tying a bow, but with a b at the end. Like Bohb. Not Bahb. Bohb.
So the kids are chasing this little guy:
yelling "bohb! bohb! bohb! bohb! bohb!"
After a while, me being me, I was playing with the little kids' sand art, which by now was one brownish pink color that they were pouring into a bear-shaped bottle. I was helping scoop the sand with them when Carlos and Rocio said jokingly "melissa wants to stay...she likes it here!"
I also learned that they speak a second language here in Alicante, much like they speak Basque in San Sebastian. Here it is called Valenciano. And I found out that the people from Valencia only call it this, even though it is the exact same as Catalan (the second language in Barcelona, which is a mix of French and Spanish). Weird, right?
Then at dinner tonight, I asked how many students they have hosted and they said I was the 5th or 6th one. The girl who was here when I was in San Sebastian was named Julianne, and I actually have met her! And we took a picture together!
(that's her in the middle!)
I only knew Kristen and Josh (the girl I am very affectionately sitting next to, and the only boy in the picture), but when they came to visit San Sebastian last year, they brought some friends. One of which was the ex-student who lived with my current host family. Weird!
After dinner I got to play with Dante and Darth Tater. I made a game of it by holding up a body part, then asking him which one it was. I held up the tongue and was like "what is this? an eye? an arm? a foot? A nose? a tongue?" and he would respond to all of them "no," even tongue, so I would say another body part and come back to tongue, giving him a chance to say the correct one. But no, he just said no all the time until I would just say "yo dante, it IS a tongue."
Also, I learned that Rocio and Carlos each have more than one cell phone. Phone plans are expensive, so they bought one phone that has cheap calls in the evening, and one with cheap calls during the day, so they can make cheap calls all the time!
And thinking about and talking about my semester abroad makes it seem so much closer than it really was, which is weird. I feel like the summer and fall just disappeared, and it was only a month ago when I was in SanSe.
Friday, January 8, 2010
CUTE OVERLOAD
So finally I got to Alicante, I waited outside in the cold (45 or 50 degrees, so cold but not too cold) while I waited for my host mom to arrive. And no, that wasn't supposed to happen. She arrived, and she spoke perfect English! That was a big disappointment. So then she showed me around the apartment, in English. I responded to everything in Spanish. (After dinner tonight, it came about that they said they'd only speak Spanish from now on...but they still say English every now and then)
I took a nap, then when I woke up, I heard a tiny little spanish voice down the hall. When I first arrived, only my host mom was home, and now she had picked up her 2 yr old son from school (which I am curious about...what school is there for 2 yr olds?). Remember in one san sebastian entry where I said children's voices are even cuter when they're in Spanish? Well, IT IS TRUE.
Dante doesn't know any words in English, so he is super duper cute. When I went to the kitchen and he came out from the patio, the voice in my head made this noise: gaajkshdgksueyrgh. That is an affectionate gargling noise of a CUTENESS OVERLOAD!
He was really shy at first, where he hid behind his parents, the table, the door, a chair, or anything that he could just peek around from, since I was a stranger.
He soon warmed up to me, and he got into his little show and tell mode that kids get into, where they just want to show you EVERYTHING. Instead of "lookit! lookit!" he's shouting "mira! Mira!" as he shoves various toys, a placemat, a shoe, and a cereal box in my face. Later I saw him wandering the hallway alone and asked him if he'd show me his room. He got SO excited at the idea of this, and immediately ran into his room and showed me all of his toys and the mini plastic slide in the middle of the room. When he showed me his chair in the den, I pointed to his shirt to ask him if he knew what number it was, and my hand brushed across the super sticky surface. Later, my host mom informed me that he likes honey. A lot. Like, 3 or 4 times a day.
In the den is also MY favorite toy of the bunch, a Mr. Potato Head doll named "Darth Tater."
Later, after dinner, he sat and watched a 7 minute clip from his favorite cartoon [edit: Pocoyo] as we finished eating. During the clip (from youtube) he was in a trance. After the clip, he was calling papa to fix it for him so it would play more. I have never seen a child refuse desserts and chocolate, but he did just that as he zoned out to the red octopus and yellow boot-shaped duck on screen. Then, of course, when it was time to go to bed, he was all "NOW I want chocolate." Then he just began naming random foods he wanted, and it was hilarious. He even said "pine nuts" at one point. Then he just began naming more and more foods. At one point, my host dad said "would you like me to make you something? perhaps a strawberry souffle?" Dante, with the most serious face, thought for a moment, then said, "Yes, I do."
Eventually he left to go to his room, but before he put on his jammies, his mom carried him in my room, and she said "what do you say? hmm? Oh, he wanted to give you a kiss before bed." And so I ducked down a bit and he gave me a peck on the cheek, with a huge grin on his face! SOOOO CUTE!
I took a nap, then when I woke up, I heard a tiny little spanish voice down the hall. When I first arrived, only my host mom was home, and now she had picked up her 2 yr old son from school (which I am curious about...what school is there for 2 yr olds?). Remember in one san sebastian entry where I said children's voices are even cuter when they're in Spanish? Well, IT IS TRUE.
Dante doesn't know any words in English, so he is super duper cute. When I went to the kitchen and he came out from the patio, the voice in my head made this noise: gaajkshdgksueyrgh. That is an affectionate gargling noise of a CUTENESS OVERLOAD!
He was really shy at first, where he hid behind his parents, the table, the door, a chair, or anything that he could just peek around from, since I was a stranger.
He soon warmed up to me, and he got into his little show and tell mode that kids get into, where they just want to show you EVERYTHING. Instead of "lookit! lookit!" he's shouting "mira! Mira!" as he shoves various toys, a placemat, a shoe, and a cereal box in my face. Later I saw him wandering the hallway alone and asked him if he'd show me his room. He got SO excited at the idea of this, and immediately ran into his room and showed me all of his toys and the mini plastic slide in the middle of the room. When he showed me his chair in the den, I pointed to his shirt to ask him if he knew what number it was, and my hand brushed across the super sticky surface. Later, my host mom informed me that he likes honey. A lot. Like, 3 or 4 times a day.
In the den is also MY favorite toy of the bunch, a Mr. Potato Head doll named "Darth Tater."
Later, after dinner, he sat and watched a 7 minute clip from his favorite cartoon [edit: Pocoyo] as we finished eating. During the clip (from youtube) he was in a trance. After the clip, he was calling papa to fix it for him so it would play more. I have never seen a child refuse desserts and chocolate, but he did just that as he zoned out to the red octopus and yellow boot-shaped duck on screen. Then, of course, when it was time to go to bed, he was all "NOW I want chocolate." Then he just began naming random foods he wanted, and it was hilarious. He even said "pine nuts" at one point. Then he just began naming more and more foods. At one point, my host dad said "would you like me to make you something? perhaps a strawberry souffle?" Dante, with the most serious face, thought for a moment, then said, "Yes, I do."
Eventually he left to go to his room, but before he put on his jammies, his mom carried him in my room, and she said "what do you say? hmm? Oh, he wanted to give you a kiss before bed." And so I ducked down a bit and he gave me a peck on the cheek, with a huge grin on his face! SOOOO CUTE!
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