Big/Little

For about two months now, I've been a "Big" in the Big Brothers Big Sisters program and I have loved it! My "Little," Alondra, is 11 and lives about 10 blocks away from us, which makes getting together so easy. Alondra is a super cool kid who is really curious about the world, loves trying new things, is thoughtful and is really funny. So far we've been bowling, we've ridden the MAX into Portland, we've played board games at a coffee shop and she's been over to our house to make cupcakes (the picture above is the batter from that day--mmm...) and sew Christmas stockings. A week ago, a tree farm in a neighboring town donated a bunch of Christmas trees to BBBS and we got to go to the farm, choose a tree and cut it down. We set it up at our place (Alondra's family already had a tree) and Alondra and I decorated it. It's actually our first real Christmas tree!

Here's the tree we picked out:

Alondra was born and has always lived here in our little town, so she speaks English fluently, and at home she speaks Spanish with her family. Our language patterns are interesting to me. She told me the first time that we met that she feels most like herself in English and that she prefers it, so we usually speak English. When I call her at home to set up or confirm our plans, we always Spanish, as we do when I'm there and her parents or grandparents are present. And when we're hanging out, she occasionally switches to Spanish, especially if she's not sure how to explain something in English. So we go back and forth. And sometimes she says things in English that are literal translations from Spanish and I'm not sure exactly what she means. The other day she asked, "Which one talks more funny, you or Eric?" After we talked for a bit, I realized that she was wondering which of us was funnier. This made me laugh.

It has been so fun to get to know Alondra, and I am continually surprised by her thoughtfulness. She recently gave Eric and me friendship bracelets that she special ordered from a flea market booth. They have our names braided into them. So sweet.

Last week, Alondra asked why we don't like to "clean the yard" and suggested that the next time we get together, we rake the leaves. She said she loves doing it. Maybe we just will.