Go Giants!

I can't believe that I have been able to cheer on my two favorite teams to victory this year in remote areas of the globe! We were so psyched to watch the Giants soundly defeat the patriots on Sunday! It was a good cultural exchange as well since we got to test our skills as football afficianados as we explained to our host father, Victor, what the heck was going on! We learned a lot about American Football vocabulary in Spanish. The entire game was in Spanish and we were trying to explain (sometimes effectively) the rules and strategy involved in the game. It isn't especially easy in English, so, Spanish translation was an intellectual exercise for sure. An unfortunate "side effect" of watching the game on Fox Sports Latinoamerica was that there weren't any commercials from the US! That's half the fun of the game, right?! However, we got to watch the same ads for upcoming soccer matches between Chile and Argentina! What a great night and what a superb victory!

On Monday, our first day of school, Peter woke up with a bad stomach. It probably came from all the excitement of the Giants game, mixed with some anxiety about our placement test, or probably was the result of some bad food. Anyway, after the morning orientation at school, he was down for the day. Today, the malaise has turned into a pretty fierce cold but he rallied like a champ and made it to school for class anyway. The school seems pretty good so far. It is a lot more institutionalized and has less of a community feel from what I've sensed to date. However, the classes are small and our teachers are quite good. Again, we are in seperate classes and Peter has been moved out of his class into his own class because it was too easy. That reminds me of when my brother had his own reading group in 1st grade because he was able to read and to comprehend the New York Times! Maybe Peter should name his group "The Zebras" just like Patrick did! My class is okay. I am happy to report that it is kind of easy for me! I know a lot more vocabulary than when I started and I feel a whole lot more comfortable talking now. I am going to see how things go tomorrow and then decide if I need to be challenged a bit more. I'd rather be a little bit challenged than bored.

Our host family is fantastic. They are so nice, patient, kind, and accepting. We were supposed to be staying with another family, but, it was changed at the last minute and I'm glad that it was switched. They have been nothing but accomodating, warm and welcoming. I can't get over how lucky we have been with our living situations. It is kind of a leap of faith and we have gone into each culture and situation with open hearts and minds. I am sure that the folks who have opened their homes to us will be friends for life.

I hope you are all doing well and having fun. We miss you a lot and think of you often!

Love,
kerry & peter