Things We Have Learned

We are starting on our second week here, and man have we learned a lot!  We have learned things we didn't know we ever needed to learn.  Allow me to elaborate.

We have learned that driving here is so different than in America.  It's not necessarily scary, but the basic rules include accelerate as quickly as possible, slam on your brakes, and be as close as possible to the cars and motorcycles to the front and beside you.  It sure makes this mama "car dizzy" as our Colombian friends call it. 

Samuel is like a sponge and is learning so much English.  He can count to six in English, knows several colors in English, says please and thank you, and "I love you."  He also burps like a true Buchanan, and says "Excuse me" with the most adorable Colombian accent. 

Lilly Grace has learned that sharing the role as the oldest is tricky.  We now have two first borns in our family, and they both have dominant personalities.  She just speaks English better.   It is almost like having twins I guess.

We have accomplished two days of Esquela de Buchanan, and all three kids have learned a lot in a brief amount of time.  Alex has learned to use scissors, and is catching on to some colors.  She is best at green and orange.   She is also learning how to draw her shapes... sort of.  Lilly Grace is learning about vowels.  Her LeapPad helps a lot with that.  She also started talking about dangling participles.  I am thinking her LeapPad must have brought that one up, because I certainly didn't.  Samuel is learning to recognize some letters.  He also traced his name really well today.  He was able to spot and circle all of the I's on a worksheet today without any help.  He is very meticulous with his coloring, and when he draws he always draws a frame around his work. He also just about has "God our Father" down pat. 

I have learned to cook with an oven that takes forever to preheat, and a stove with only two eyes that work.  Our dishwasher doesn't clean well, so I wash everything by hand.  There is no garbage disposal, so all food remnants get tossed.  I realized how spoiled I am, and how easy we have it at home!!!  I also have learned that if you don't drink a ton of water at this higher altitude, you feel horrendous.  Thankfully our social worker taught us ways to remedy altitude sickness.

Together, Brent and I  learned today governmental offices world wide are slow.  We had to get a Colombian ID card and number, and were told to expect about 2 or so hours to be at the immigration office.  Thanks to a broken fingerprint scanner, we got to spend about five hours altogether in the process.  Our amazing translator and driver babysat the kiddos, while we did the paperwork and such with our attorney. 

What Brent has learned takes the cake, though.  This is not the type of thing I typically write about, but it's too funny not to share.  I have Brent's permission so as not to embarrass him.  I digress.  He has learned that pasta here is la pasta, NOT pene, as in penne pasta. The night of our first full 24 hours with Samuel, we went out for Italian.  Brent thought he was asking Samuel if he wanted pasta and cheese, or what the girls call "mac-a-noodles."  Samuel gave Brent a horrendous look, and has refused to even try pasta for us yet.  Today, we discovered why.  Brent had asked Samuel if he wanted penis with cheese for dinner. Brent and I were laughing uncontrollably in the Immigration Office once we realized the heinous mistake, and now we know why Samuel may never eat pasta a day in his life.