Getting Ready (Or Not!) to Go

We now are officially one week out from our big trip....though you'd never guess by the lack of preparations going on in our house. I just finished the new book I picked up in the Dallas airport yesterday, Supreme Courtship by Christopher Buckley. I tend to seek solace in reading marathons or some equally unproductive task when I am feeling most overwhelmed by my to do list. Then, after I have accomplished absolutely nothing for a few hours, sometimes even a day, I am able to face what really needs to be done. A little pressure just helps to light a fire under me....

The boys have diligently been using our Rosetta Stone program. At this point I am pretty sure they will be able to say hello and goodbye, ask the names of other children, and tell everyone that they are wearing purple socks. Other than that, the boys will have to rely on mediocre miming skills as well as the goodwill and patience of the Peruvian children. My own Spanish is not stellar, but I am hoping that I can have a decent, though in all likelihood short, conversation with the Spanish speakers we meet. The kids and I traveled to Guatemala for ten days last spring and I felt very comfortable with the language by the end of our trip. However, for some reason, when I get back into the United States, I lose all ability to coherently speak Spanish. This is a hurdle I am trying to overcome by spending more and more time in Spanish-speaking areas. To that extent, our upcoming move to San Diego will, I am sure, prove extremely helpful.

So my goal with this blog is three-fold: to have a record of our trip in real time, to let our friends and family share in our experiences, and to get the kids to feel more comfortable sharing their writing with others. Hopefully we will be able to post once a day but since we don't know exactly what we are going into, that may not happen. Whether we post or not, we look forward to sharing memories and (hours upon endless hours) of photos with, most likely, anyone who will sit still long enough to listen to us. In the meantime, we wish all of our friends and family could be with us on this exciting and amazing journey. Now, I wonder if I have any cross stitch patterns lying around......
Jenny