Deyra's First Thanksgiving and other Adventures

Once again, I have been slow in my blogging…I’m not very good at it. Deyra had her first Thanksgiving with us, sadly I don’t have any pictures, but it went well. My family came over to our house for Thanksgiving and Deyra helped me out in the kitchen and learned the names of a lot of veggies. Deyra liked the Macy’s parade so much that she turned it on in her room even though it was on in the living room. After some encouraging, she came out and watched with me. She tried all the food and said that she liked it all. We all took turns saying what we were thankful for and Deyra said, “for my family here”, it was sweet.


Deyra with Erika and Robert at Kevin's Birthday Party

Thanksgiving night, Kevin and I headed to LA for a reunion with our Peace Corps family (the others who were in Catacamas with us). Deyra stayed with my mom and had only one problem. Apparently my mom told her that she was going to get firewood on Saturday and that they had to pick Laurie up first. She pointed to the wood and Deyra said that she understood. When they got to Laurie’s house (she lives next door to us), Deyra jumped out of the car, said “thanks for everything”, and ran inside. My mom and Laurie were really confused and assumed that when Deyra heard “Laurie’s house” she figured that she could go home. Deyra had wanted to stay home alone but we told her that she needed to stay with someone so she could practice her English. My mom and Laurie did not want to make her go back to my mom’s if she didn’t want to so they just left her.

Needless to say, I was a little angry when I found out what Deyra had done. I had explained to her in English and Spanish how long/what days she was staying at my mom’s and how she would get home. When I asked Deyra what happened, she said that my mom told her they were going to Laurie’s so she just went home. I explained to her that this was not what she was supposed to do and she apologized and said that she did not understand. I took the TV out of her room since all she does is watch Spanish TV and not practice English. She was ok with that. Everyone is pretty sure that she understood and just saw it as a way to stay at our house alone like she wanted.


Decorating the Christmas Tree

Christmas is very different in Nicaragua than it is in the U.S. and Deyra is learning about our traditions. She helped me decorate the Christmas tree (she put all of the ball ornaments in one area and I had to redo it later) and went to a Christmas parade with us. I keep trying to get her to make a Christmas list but she is reluctant. I think that she does not want to seem greedy. I finally explained to her last night that people don’t have to buy her all of the things on the list, it is just a guide. That seemed to do the trick and she said that she would make one today.


Reedley College Float at the Parade

We went out of town last weekend and Deyra stayed with our friend, Grace, who goes to our church. Grace has had numerous SEED students in the past and was more than willing to have Deyra stay with her. According to Deyra, they had fun; she spoke in English and learned to play the piano. Grace was much more descriptive and said that they went to Walmart, a Mary Kay party, helped out at a parent’s night out babysitting event, went to adult Sunday School, and she taught Deyra to play a song on the piano. It sounds like the opposite of what Deyra is like at our house. She apparently went everywhere that Grace suggested (she always chooses to stay home with us if given the choice), did not stay in her room, and spoke English (her only option with Grace). I think that she probably felt like she had to participate since she does not know Grace that well like she did with us when she first arrived. As soon as we came home, she started talking in Spanish again and didn’t want to go anywhere with us...baby steps.

Even without the TV in her room, Deyra still spends the majority of her time in there. We always invite her to watch TV with us (well, the rare times that we watch TV), and I have told her that she can watch TV in the living room whenever she wants. We often see her just staring at the ceiling in her room. For some reason she prefers to be alone in her room. As a result, her English is not improving very much. It is still impossible to have an actual conversation with her, and she still generally answers us in Spanish. We have started saying, “What, I don’t understand” when she talks to us in Spanish. Hopefully Christmas break and not being around Spanish speaking people all the time will help.


Our Christmas Card Picture

Up next: Deyra has finals, Deyra’s first Christmas