I have struggled since day 1 to understand conversations happening around me. The people speak very fast here and many do no understand English. I am lucky that I have Jen, Liz, Staci, and Lisa at Hospicio - who all rock my socks off, by the way - they are so encouraging and supportive of me at our service site and really help me out with speaking and understanding the language. I am now able to comprehend much more, however, am unable to speak back in more than 3-4 word phrases. One of the many things that I have learned at Hospicio is that touch goes a long way. Even if I cannot speak more than a few words, the residents are so happy that I am there to interact, or to smile, or to go for a walk. We laugh at my comprehension struggles and keep trucking along. Today, as I was suffering from a case of bad dehydration, I had to lie down on a bench on the porch of the home. Many residents came up to me to hold my hand or touch my shoulder to make sure that I was ok. This touched my heart and I am speechless about it. As I could not understand their words, I could understand their actions and know that they were putting me in their prayers to get better.
On the flip side of not knowing Spanish, I had a treat when we visited Batey Libertad last week. Most of the people there speak English, Creole, Spanish and French. I asked around to see whom spoke French and decided to give it a try. Yes, I struggled a little, trying to piece things together for I have not spoken it in about 3 years or so; but I found myself talking and laughing and really enjoying myself. More and more people were getting the word that I spoke French and would come and talk to me too. I had a lot of fun with it! I learned so much about the people at the Batey and only wish I could stay in contact with a few of them to see how they progess in their studies and in life in general (also being able to keep up on my french practice).
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