Sunday morning, I received kind of a last-minute invitation to my friend Angela's house. She said her 50th birthday was Tuesday and she was having friends over. So after working at church this morning, I drove out to Ada with my map in hand. After getting completely lost on the way (the map was worthless), I did finally find Angela's house. She has a very welcoming front porch ~ I love her bright yellow front door.
Angela is part of an international group of women. They meet on a regular basis and help each other get used to America! I've told you about several of these women who attend our Wednesday morning exercise class, and two of them were at Angela's this morning. I had my camera with me, but somehow it just seemed hokey to be snapping pictures of them for no other reason than to show you their faces ... so I didn't.
For quite awhile this morning, I was the only woman who spoke English as a first language. So, since most of them were from Germany, they were naturally speaking German! It was the oddest feeling to be surrounded by a bunch of women and not understand a single word of their conversation! But it was good for me to know how it feels for them all the time. There were several small children speaking both German and English, back and forth, not skipping a beat! But when these women speak English, it is hesitant and rather broken. You can see them working out the interpretation before they speak; and even when they do, their pronunciation is very ... German! "Ve vanted to verk, but zey vould not let us" (for example). 
I posted these plaques for Adam's benefit, since he was a four-year German student in high school. Can you read them, Adam? I wandered around Angela's pretty house and took just a few pictures. It's very colorful inside (lots of yellows and bright blues), with interesting artifacts from their travels all around Europe. I did go back to the kitchen and join the women, who forced themselves to speak in English so that I wouldn't feel left out. It was a unique experience for me to be in the minority, but after resisting the temptation to leave after the first five minutes, I rather enjoyed getting to know them!
When I first met Angela, two years ago now, I knew we would be good friends. I wish you could all meet her ~ I know you would love her too!
1 comment:
Wow! That sounds like fun and slightly intimadating to be in the minority. Glad that you stuck it out and got to know the women better.
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