A New Friend

Kiki rarely sleeps in, but this morning caught her snoozing even though the sun was up. It's nice to sleep in when dreaming pleasantly and Kiki was dreaming that she could hear the waves on the beach and smell the salty air. In her dream she heard a little girl calling her name. She gradually realized that she actually could hear waves and smell salty air. Plus, she really could hear a little girl talking.


Excuse me. Are you Kiki? I was told to look for a little girl here and I think her name was Kiki. Con permiso, me llama Maria Teresa. [Excuse me, my name is Maria Teresa.]


Kiki woke up to see a beautiful little girl standing beside her. "Yes, I'm Kiki. Are you the island girl that is coming to live with us?" Maria Teresa nodded.



Maria Teresa responded, "Yes, I am excited to be part of your family. I love living here on South Padre Island, but I also am excited to travel and see your other home in Colorado. I've never seen snow!"
Kiki replied, "Snow is awesome! I can teach you how to snowboard. But, while we are here, I'd love to have you teach me the names of the birds I keep seeing. I want to be an ornithologist when I grow up. And you speak Spanish, right? I'd love to work on mine. I know a little."
"Yes," said Maria Teresa. "I grew up speaking both English and Spanish like most people here. I am Mexicana, a Mexican, even though I was born here in the US. We are proud of our Mexican heritage and culture and are glad it continues on this island."


Kiki laughed. "I feel like I'm in Mexico when I'm here. The language, the culture, the food, it's so fun and interesting to me. It's really going to be great to have you show me around, Maria Teresa."
Maria Teresa giggled.  "I'm excited, too!  But, please call me Maite [pronounced MY-tay].  All of us girls are named Maria after the blessed virgin, so we use our middle name or nicknames to tell us apart.  I'm usually called Maite, which is kind of a mix of both my names."  [this is actually a common contraction of Maria Teresa] 
Kiki agreed.  "Okay, Maite.  ¡Mucho gusto!" [meaning glad to meet you, in this context]


Maite thought to herself, "I think I will be very happy with my new sister, Kiki."