Encouraging Words

Yesterday I was muttering something about feeling old (I'll be 23 in less than a month). One of my highschool students happened to hear me, and dear, sweet Alexandra said, "You're not old, you're middle-aged." That helped me feel so much better!
Something kinda funny happened on Monday. We came back after visitation (to a family that doesn't speak English) and Ariel started speaking to me in Spanish. That was a little strange, because he usually speaks English to me, but I understand, so I went ahead and replyed in Spanish. He apparently didn't realize I know the language, he just always thought I understood a little bit. I stood there talking to him and Andrea for a while, and he made a comment about my accent in Spanish. I said "What are you talking about?" He repeated it slower, and I told him I understood the words he was saying, but I wasn't quite sure what he was trying to say. I finally figured out that he was telling me I don't have an accent in Spanish, in other words my Spanish does not have an American accent. Now that really was encouraging! I have been slightly frustrated at times because I'm trying to learn the language, and I can't get a lot of the college students around here to speak to me in Spanish because they're all trying to learn English! I have prayed for more opportunities to learn, and the Lord has been providing that.
I can't believe it's only 2 weeks until Thanksgiving, and that it's really almost winter! It does not feel at all like winter here, but that's to be expected. They have had the stores decorated for Christmas since the beginning of October, though. I'm still trying to figure out if they're trying to counteract the fact that it doesn't feel cold here, so they have to decorate the stores so we will trick ourselves into thinking it's the Christmas season.