Changing gears

We went to the Spanish service at church again today (we tried last week, but apparently no one but the preacher and his wife had shown up for Bible class, so they gave it up and went home). I had a much harder time understanding the sermon this time around-- couldn't get my brain to switch gears into Spanish. While we enjoy teaching in Sunday school, it will be nice when we can go the the Spanish Bible class as well as the service. That way, we can prepare by reading the Bible in Spanish (and speaking it to each other, as much as we can) before going to church so we're totally in Spanish for the entire morning. As it is now, I can read beforehand but then have to switch to English for a hour, then back again. The preacher's wife told me this morning that I should make English off-limits for myself as soon as I walk into the room where the service is held. And she's totally right, of course. I'm struggling with the European problem of not wanting to speak a language until I can speak it. (Americans tend to not have this problem as much.) So that's probably what I'll do next Sunday. Maybe I'll teach the kids some Spanish words to get my brain more in gear. :)

The other day I was speeding along on my bike (speeding for me, that is), tried to change gears and my chain fell off. All I remember from when I was young is that getting the chain back on is a huge deal, complete with pinched fingers and a long delay while Dad gets it going again. So I was not happy when I got off to survey the damage. Well, it took me all of five seconds to get it back on and get going again. So, I'm guessing that bikes are made better these days, to facilitate the ease of putting the chain back on the bike. Either that or my father was making it seem like an ordeal just to keep us entertained. Which I suppose is possible.