Bicultural Vida

You know those butterflies we tend to get when we’re about to do something big? Whether it’s giving a speech, stepping into an important meeting, jumping out of a plane or participating in a race, I am constantly looking for opportunities that provoke this simultaneous feeling of nervousness and excitement. While I admit that I am far from a good singer, and still have much to improve on in terms of speaking in front of a crowd, the favorite butterfliesRead More ...

My brother lords it over me when we are growing up: I was born in Costa Rica and therefore can never become President of the United States, but he can.  He was born in California, and in our minds, when we are 8 or 9, being President is a realistic goal. And it is an enviable one at that. The U.S. holds a mystique for us — we love the music, the surfer slang, the brand-name clothing, the fun treatsRead More ...

Never, ever did I plan to have children, but even more far-fetched in my envisioned future was to confront pregnancy in a foreign country. Nonetheless, I fell in love and life surprised me with an extended stay along the Pacific Coast of Mexico, in my husband’s hometown. Included during this “stay” I experienced a blissful courtship, marriage, becoming a legal Mexican resident (phew, that’s finally out of the way!), and then… a positive pregnancy stick. Wait, what? After the immediateRead More ...

The world has definitely become smaller the more connected we are. It’s much easier for anyone these days to be globally minded and connect with someone in the other side of the world and to learn about different cultures without leaving your home. But that doesn’t necessarily mean that individual societies are also more open and diverse racially, culturally and ethnically. Some days when you turn on the news it actually feels like whole groups are becoming much more closedRead More ...

I have this way of dealing with things that are really really scary – I close my eyes. I’ve always been that way. Whether it be hearing my parents argue, trying to fit into a crowd (physically or culturally) or raising kids to be Latino enough, shutting my eyes makes everything right. Ignorance can truly be bliss. That’s exactly what I did after Trayvon Martin was gunned down by a vigilante. I closed my eyes and kept raising my SpanglishRead More ...

The reasons for raising a bilingual child are varied. For me, it’s mostly because I can’t fathom my children not speaking my mother tongue, not being able to communicate with my family back in Peru or my husband’s family in Puerto Rico. But it’s also because of all the proven cognitive benefits of speaking more than one language as well as the financial advantages. I recently got the opportunity to show my 6-year-old daughter Vanessa exactly how it pays toRead More ...

Editor’s note: We’re spending this week celebrating dads raising bilingual kids with guest posts written by them in honor of Father’s Day. We love having the dad’s perspective and hope this series encourages other papis to share their stories with us. On November 11, 2009, I was just another young man trying to make his way in the world. Some of us college-aged kids from church were starting a small group, and we were kicking it off with a little get together atRead More ...

Editor’s note: We’re spending this week celebrating dads raising bilingual kids with guest posts written by them in honor of Father’s Day. We love having the dad’s perspective and hope this series encourages other papis to share their stories with us. I first fell in love with Argentine asado several years ago on a magical New Year’s Eve in Mar del Plata, Argentina. It was my first trip to South America and I was meeting my wife’s large, extended family for the firstRead More ...