The other night,  we were invited to the premier of Oliver Stone’s documentary South of the Border. President Chavez and Oliver Stone were in attendance and gave speeches prior to the film. As expected, when they went to take their seats, people were going crazy. Everybody wanted to shake their hands and say a few words. From the second story balcony, there was this little boy (about 5 years-old) who kept calling “Chavez, Chavez, el Comandante!!”

I thought it was pretty cute the first 10 times, but after that I started to worry that people in the audience were going to get annoyed. I kept waiting for someone to shout out some rude comment to the mom who was standing right next to him. I had a flashback to that airplane incident a few years ago in the States when a woman was removed from an airplane with her small son because he kept saying “Bye-bye plane”.

Surprisingly, no one ever became annoyed. The kid must have yelled 25 times before President Chavez acknowledged him (which got a huge round of applause) and each time all that happened were laughs from amusement. It’s taking time, but I am slowly getting used to how children are viewed in this society. I just hope I won’t be too disturbed by the change when we go back to the States.

After answering the question for the 30th time, my husband said “I wonder what they expected to happen”. My sentiments exactly.

I thought that everyone would assume that the kids would have the easiest time adjusting to a change like this. My seven year-old was really excited about coming and I think my two year-old thinks we’re on an extended vacation. He would not be surprised if we got on an airplane tomorrow and moved back to our old house – aahh, the joys of childhood.

When we first made this decision, my first concern was “how will the kids adjust”. But, after thinking and researching, not necessarily in that order, I realized that the most important thing for them at this age is stability in the home. Throughout this process, our family unit has stayed in tact and that is making the transition smoother.

I was a little nervous about them starting school, but after the first day meltdowns adjustments were over, they seem to really like it. The school schedule is different than in the states (shorter days) and I think this has helped a lot. When people ask me how they’re dealing with the new language, I tell that it’s too soon to tell. Of course they don’t understand most things right now, but I will be better able to assess their progress after at least three months.

In the meantime, I am enjoying watching their little developments so that one day I’ll say “ I remember when you weren’t fluent in Spanish.”

Photo credit: Tommickle

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