Mirellen Cristina

It's time to do an entry on another one of the girls. Previously I had done one on Milena and one on Sucena.  Now it's time to write about Mirellen.

When we started talking to the girls over the phone Mirellen was always the first one to answer it. I found out later this was because she jumped over the steps, so she could get there first.  The day we went to pick up the girls, the Director of La Casita said to us "Mirellen will definitely be a challenge to you".  We soon found out that she was.  Yet, Mirellen has blossomed, she has the highest grade point average of all the girls, the largest amount of friends and has done more sports than any of the girls.  You see, Mirellen is a tomboy, and in Colombia this was not culturally acceptable.  When we were in Colombia we assured her that she would be accepted here, the way she was.  She did not believe us at first (as she usually does), but she has soon found out that this is true.  And that there are many girls like her.  Mirellen is a tough girl, she can lift me up (believe it or not),  and she has her own sense of fashion and style (a point of contention between the oldest two), she is the first to challenge us but once you gain her trust, she is loyal. She is a risk taker, and this has helped her learn the most English compared to the other girls.  She is not afraid to state her opinion.  I have learned a lot from Mirellen because she is honest with me, I have told her this many times.   She is the only one that has said she will go back to live in Colombia, 'to teach English' she says.  She is loyal to her country and culture.  We are appreciative of that and are helping her have a sense of her identity as a 'Colombiana' and as an "Americana".

 At school she has asked the kids to call her Cristina, something I don't like, because I feel that she is compromising for the fact that some people say they can't pronounce her name.  Most people now know her by both names, a little confusing right now.  She did cross country earlier in the year and has now gotten into racquetball.  We hope she will inspire the other girls to taken on different challenges in life.
I know she is already an inspiration to others at school, and hear this from teachers all the time.  Mirellen does not have a sense of how beautiful she is, and loves to get her picture taken.  We are proud of everything she has accomplished in this short time.  We are blessed that she is in our lives.