talking with string (Post 12)

By Amber Oakes
I grew up going to camp every summer, so I love making bracelets and learning new styles. Before we left Seattle, I saw Judy with a beautiful bracelet that I hadn't seen before and didn't know how to make, so I asked her where she got it. She told me that a boy at the ranch had made it for her, and I forgot about it until this Saturday. We were sitting at our house just hanging out and Judy came and found me and told me that the boy who made her bracelet was on our porch! I went over and was introduced to Chele, a university student who was at the ranch for a weekend to do chores. I told him how much I loved his bracelet with my broken Spanish, and he offered to teach me in his broken English. We had trouble communicating when our interpreter left, but we sat down with some string and got to work. I picked out some colors and he started a bracelet for me, showing me how and making sure I understood what he was doing. He was really happy to teach me, and we didn't have to talk too much because we both understood bracelets. When he was sure I got it, he handed me the string and I kept going. I got the hang of it and I was so happy when he called it perfect! It was such a great experience because even though we didn't speak the same language, we were talking and he was able to teach me something new and exciting.