Thankful for These Days. . .

Today was just one of those days, one of those days I'm thankful for, which is so much better than those other days. Maybe I should clarify. . . I'm thankful for my progress in language today. This morning, as I was leaving to take Kevin to work, my maid was outside sweeping the sidewalk (oh, that's way more normal here than it should be!). She had a bit of a cold yesterday so I asked her if she was feeling better and then she asked me if we were feeling better (Emma and I had both had colds for a week) and I told her we were both better. Then, off we went. Later, the man who cuts our grass (yes, we have a gardener, too!), came to our door to ask if he could come this afternoon to work since he'd missed the last several weeks due to rain. I told him he could come later in the afternoon because Emma would be sleeping and I didn't want the loud mower running right outside her bedroom. We agreed on a time and he left. Then I went to class. My teacher and I spoke entirely in Portuguese and she taught me about some of the history of our state, Rio Grande do Sul, and about the civil war during which our state tried to gain independence. I understood almost everything. After class, I came home to get Emma (yes, she no longer attends class with me, but she stays with Reni and plays for that hour), and we went to the gas station to have the oil changed in our car. Kevin's been wanting to do it for a long time, but his work schedule just doesn't give him a lot of free time to take care of things like that. I figured I could help him out by saving him the 30 minutes it would take. He had told me that in case I forgot the words, there's a huge sign above the garage that says TROCA DE OLEO. Perfect. I knew I wouldn't forget! Emma and I waited inside and while she had a little snack of banana and crackers, I read the local paper. Yes, I read the local paper. Here's the kicker: I understood what I was reading!!! There were a few words that were foreign (ha, ha) to me, but for the most part, I understood everything. It helped that what I was reading had pictures to go along with the story, but hey, I was pretty excited! I asked the clerk if I could buy a paper because I was learning to read in Portuguese (which she probably gathered by the rate at which I was reading. . . and speaking), and she said they didn't have any for sale. Then she looked at the date and told me I could have it because it was from the weekend! Sweet! I even got the weekend paper!! She seemed happy to help me too! So we got the oil changed, picked Kevin up for lunch and went to the hotel (on a whim) to eat. We saw many familiar people there (since we lived there for almost 3 months) and I spoke with the owner of the restaurant and his wife. Kevin went back to work and Emma and I went home. Later in the afternoon my friend Alina came over to use internet. She and her husband are moving back to the States (Moline, actually) on Thursday, so they're living in the hotel right now. She also works for Deere and we'll miss them a ton. Alina is originally from Costa Rica and speaks Spanish, so learning Portuguese wasn't all that difficult for her. She speaks quickly and flawlessly and I was able to listen to a few of her conversations with other people. Anyway, a Brasilian friend of hers had given her a recipe for a chicken dinner and she shared it with me. As I was copying it onto my computer, I realized that I was typing completely in Portuguese. . . and I understood what I was typing!! I had to ask Alina what a few words meant, but for the most part, I understood!! After Alina left and Emma woke up from her nap, we went for a walk. I stopped as I walked by one of our language teacher's home. Her twin three-year old boys were playing outside with the nanny and we growled at each other and then I explained to them that Emma is still learning to speak Portuguese. I'm not sure they understood what I was saying, not because my language was bad, but maybe because they weren't really sure why another kid couldn't understand them. Then their dad came home and we chatted for a few minutes before I continued on my walk. As I was nearing the top of the huge hill near the center of town, the maid from my language teacher's home appeared alongside me. We huffed and puffed our way up the rest of the hill and talked about how difficult it was, but how good it was for us too! She turned left; I turned right and we parted ways. Emma and I returned home in time to jump in the car and go get Kevin from work. As we were sitting in the car waiting for him, I said, "Onde esta o seu Pai?", which means, "Where's your Dad?" to which Emma replied, "Um, I think he's hiding. Or at work." I smiled. I asked her a question in Portuguese (albeit simple), and she answered me in English. I smiled. Kevin's gone tonight at a dinner. Emma's in bed. I thought I'd study Portuguese. Instead, I'm blogging. I took a shower and as I was standing there thinking about this day, I smiled. It just felt like a successful day. As a friend of mine said, "You're not Brazilian, but you're not in the States anymore. So you have to find that place in between." I haven't found it, I know, but today I felt just a little bit closer to it. And the closer I get to that in-between place, the more this foreign place feels like home. Today was just a good day and I wanted to make sure I wrote it down. Now, instead of studying the language more, I'm going to bed. After all, it's been a very busy day:) Good night!