I was about to ask the school if they would mind giving my contact information to Carlos' mom when she texted me. And then this morning, we were a bit late at drop-off at Reni's school, and she saw Reni and heard his name and turned around with a smile. "Finally, I meet Reni!" she said. "Carlos is always 'Reni, Reni, Reni' and I never knew who he was."
Turns out, they arrived from Venezuela three months ago. Carlos doesn't speak any English. I had no idea, and his mom laughed. "I ask Carlos how they talk," she said in her own still-learning English, "and he say, 'we just play, mom - no talk.'"
They live about two blocks away. Hooray for amigos, because making friends here in Miami is really difficult, I'm finding. People stick to themselves and their own networks, and the 'gringa' barrier is one that I'm only going to break through if I bring my Latino husband along with me so that other moms think I am relatable. Or something. I'm not really sure what the deal is, and I'm still trying to figure out this whole Miami culture thing.
Case in point: last night, Anika's school had a Holiday Show. They split up the show into two nights, actually, because the school is so big, and Anika's class performed last night. Armando said they were forced to wait in a line so long that he missed most of the show, and that along that line someone was selling pizza and refreshments. He was triple-parked in, so couldn't leave when it was time to go, which is pretty typical at Anika's school. And this, in a nutshell, is Miami: hurry up and wait; someone will try to make a few dollars off of you; stuck in parking lot.
But hey, isn't Anika adorable in her Christmas dress and Santa hat? Her class sang and danced to "Up on the Rooftop."
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