Maslow, you smart, smart man

Hey everyone~ Life is going well, and I've completed my 2nd month living abroad. The longer I am here, the more its beginning to feel like home. I have made big efforts to fix up my apartment, buy some things to decorate, and really begin to get settled. In the past when I have moved into a new apartment, I have had things set-up within a few days...a couple of Target runs and some paint and suddenly I have what feels like home. This has taken longer, but there have also been other things ranking much higher on the list...adjusting to a new job, new culture, and so on .

On Maslow's Hierarchy of needs, decorating a room...i.e. aesthetic beauty, organization, etc. ranks 2nd to the top, only beneath self-actualization, which, in theory, is never fully attained but merely placed before you as an idealistic goal for which to strive. Like the unattainable dangling carrot. So why go on and on about decorating my room? It means that I am progressing up the Hierarchy of Needs, which means that I am getting to the point where I can move towards self-actualization and begin to focus less on myself and more on others. I would love to say that I could do that anyways without having a decorated room, but alas human nature kicks in and decorating is not only for aesthetics, but more like a coping mechanism. I think all the ladies reading this will understand...

I have also seen other changes in my language and how I am comprehending Spanish. Let me start first by explaining some of the core people (who you will probably hear and see more of).

Naomi: Room-mate (acompañera)- Has been teaching here for 3 years, is fluent in Spanish, knows her way around, and lets me tag along. Most likely a bad-combination of personalities since both of us are very independent and are constantly daring each other to do stuff.

Jen: Chem major, teaches High School Chemistry, also first year teacher. Went to El Salvador together, and has dreams and ambitions of seeing all Central American countries within the school year as well as saving planet. Also, most likely a bad combination of personalities since we also are both very adventurous and dare each other to do stuff.

Jorge: Best Honduran friend, and good balance for all of us since he does not dare us to do stuff, but rather scolds us when he hears of our dares. Free Spanish tutor extraordinaire, and city tour guide.

Anyways, to come back after that little jaunt, I am understanding Spanish much better. Last night after church I was having dinner with Naomi and Jorge at this great little street restaurant (the best restaurants, I've noticed, are the ones that only have 2-3 things on the menu and 5-7 picnic tables that are always packed. Oh, they also charge on average 25-40 lempiras for a plate of food, which equals out to about $1.10 to $2.00) and I realized that while I was listening to Jorge talk that I was no longer translating his Spanish into English in my brain. To explain this a little better, my language acquisition thus far has gone like this: Someone speaks to me, and I translate the first word I understand into English, and by the time I'm done translating 4 more words have gone by, and I catch the fifth one.

Ex. Perro (dog).....blah blah blah blah....Calle (street)...blah blah blah blah....Fùtbol (soccer)....blah blah blah blah....Entiendas? (Do you understand?)

So, I would try to best understand the sentence by piecing it together with the words I knew combined with any hand-gestures the person may have thrown into the mix. However, the other night I wasn't having to do this...I didn't have to do any Spanish-English translation, I just knew the words and what he was saying. Totally cool. I also have been unconsciously speaking Spanglish. For example (Por ejemplo), I will be speaking in English to someone who also speaks English, and I will throw in random Spanish words without even thinking about it. I guess that means that its coming more naturally to me, but at this moment it now means that I am awkward at two languages instead of one.

I still have a lot of work to do with my spanish, and I mess up grammatically all of the time. But, at least now I am able to get my point across though, even if it means that I use the future tense verb instead of the conditional tense. At least they're understanding the verb I'm using and not giving me the dreaded blank stare...the "you are making absolutely no sense" stare. Its more along the lines of a "bless your heart" pity stare, but I'll take what I can get.

I will be honest though and say that the past few days have brought my first sad moments since I've been here. This weekend, both my former roommate Erin and my cousin Eddie both had their weddings, and I didn't get to go to either. That got me thinking about how I haven't seen my other cousin, Elizabeth, since her wedding 3 years ago. I haven't seen either of her two beautiful babies ever, and I won't see them for a long time since I will be here. I have also felt a huge need to reconnect with old friends, and desperately try to hold on to the ones I have back in the states. I know this is all normal, but I guess what I'm trying to do is still feel like I have some consistency in my life---that not everything has changed. I am not homesick, because I am loving it down here... I just need the people in my life who I care about to make me feel a little closer to normalcy. So, it would mean a lot if you write and put posts on here. I love hearing about anything- even the boring, mundane life details.

Anyways, that's all for now. I will give more life details when I have any more little stories or details worthy of being published.

Macayla

P.S. For any of those that know me,
you will sense the humor in this.
On Saturdays we leave for the
market at 6:30 a.m., and I went
to bed so early that I woke up at
4:45 a.m.. Naturally. I am no
longer capable of sleeping in past
7. So sad...