Days 1-3. Viernes.

Being back at the Gabriel House makes me wonder why I ever left. I mean, sure, maybe I can’t drink the water or go places alone. Maybe each “conversation” I have makes me feel like I’m drowning in a very fast, strong river. A river of Spanish. But that’s OK, ‘cause when I walk through the gate each morning I get 3 kids yelling my name, a couple of hugs that knock the wind out of me, and at least 5 smiling faces. What more could I ask for?

                So I’ve been here for 2 ½ days, family in tow. I’ll be honest, the first afternoon kinda freaked me out (Mike’s sitting here reading this over my shoulder and just said “Because WE were all freaked out”). I guess that’s true. It’s a little hard to walk into a house full of 30 handicapped kids where no one speaks English. Especially after a busy day of traveling that started at 5 am. Remembering my first day, the only reason I did well at all was because we had Hillary giving us tasks to keep us busy. It is a little difficult to learn how to communicate with these kids. Some use sign language that they made up. Some understand English but don’t talk at all. And all communicate by hugs. Thankfully, yesterday the fam did better, and today was fantastic! They already have their favorite activities and favorite kids. My mom has latched onto Javier and is either holding him or at least sitting by him pretty much all day.  Jose loves having an older guy around, so my dad’s been spending a lot of time with him, walking and trying to understand his signs.  And the boys have been playing a lot with Uziel (Although I guess that’s true for all of us) and our newest little guy, Emanuel. So it’s been good and I can’t wait to go back tomorrow!

                “What more could I ask for?” That question actually has an answer, and it’s not “nothing”. I ask for fluency in Spanish and more than just 3 weeks to spend here. How about a lifetime? A lifetime of Louis calling me over and expecting me to understand his Spanish. A lifetime of Jaime wheeling himself around bumping into things in an attempt to find me. A lifetime of Uziel making his little baby-dinosaur noises. Heck, I’ll even take a lifetime of 5-kid dogpiles on me.