Bilingual Baby Project–a study presented by researchers of the University of Washington and the University of Texas at San Antonio–concluded that the earlier we start exposing babies to a second language, the more flexible their bilingual brains will be and the more they can identify and separate the sounds of the different languages they are exposed to.

The key, researchers say, is that during their first year of life, babies should be exposed through rich interactions to the two languages at home so their brains can absorb all the sounds and retain them by the time this first window starts to close once they turn one year old.  In fact, “the researchers also show that the relative amount of each language — English and Spanish — babies were exposed to affected their vocabulary as toddlers.”

This study is significant because it is the first one to measure brain activity in the first year of age and relate it directly to language learning in babies exposed to both English and Spanish at home.

Knowing this, we give you three strategies parents raising bilingual babies can use as soon as their child is born {or even in the womb!}:

1.  Habla, habla, habla! Researchers also found that exposure to the language does matter. Meaning, the more a baby hears the sounds of a particular language, the larger his vocabulary in it will be.  Talk to your baby all the time in Spanish, or your second language, even if you think she has no idea what you are saying; she’s absorbing every little sound and it will be the building blocks to her own speech acquisition.  Reading and singing in Spanish will also enrich their bilingual environment and get them used to hearing books and songs in Spanish.

You can also organize playdates with other Spanish-speaking amigas with babies so that your kids listen to the chatter in Spanish while you’re all entertained.

2. Have a plan, be consistent and stick to it.  The personal strategies parents adopt to raise their child bilingually are fundamental to creating a rich and consistent environment to learn multiple languages. As a couple, decide early on which of the proven methods to raise a bilingual child you will use in your home: Minority Language at Home{ml@h}, One Parent, One Language {OPOL}, or Time and Place.  Once you decide, have a game plan and stick to it to create familiarity and consistency in the baby’s environment. For example, if the dad will be the Spanish speaker, he will always be the Spanish speaker, sin excusas.

3.  Commit to your decision. The study also showed that the parents’ desires to raise bilingual children is of utmost importance.  Committing to the bilingual journey requires a real passion and desire to follow through. Be sure of what your reasons are and let that passion filter through your daily actions to ensure a fun and immersive bilingual home environment for your baby.

The research is clearly on our side, we really have no excuse to not promote bilingualism in our kids as soon as they are born. Just think about it, they have  no idea of the gift you are giving them and of the incredible ways it will manifest as benefits in their lives, and, the best part is they can’t even complain or argue against it yet.

I do need to add that even though this Bilingual Baby Project finds that the first year of age is the best time to start learning a second language, this in no way means it’s our only window of opportunity.  It is the first one and will set a solid base for a flexible brain, but children until the age of seven are clearly well suited, neurolagically speaking, to easily become fluently bi and multilingual.

Share:  How  early did you start exposing your child to a second language?

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For Moms And Babies All Over The World: The Million Moms Challenge

If you’re here reading this you’re most likely a mom Read more ...

Last time we wrote about this subject matter, I gave you a list of 10 books I recommended. This time around, there’s only five. I haven’t read all of them, but I figured I’d include the last two because they’re written by highly respected experts in the field of bilingualism. Around this time next year, as we recently announced, we’ll be so honored to be able to add our own book to the list of recommended reading for parents raising bilingual kids.

1) Bilingual: Life and Reality Francois Grosjean – Professor Grosjean is no stranger to bilingualism. Not only is he one (English/French), but he has basically dedicated his career to this topic and his expertise includes code-switching and borrowing – two of my favorite areas when it comes to bilingualism. He’s written two other books, Life with Two Languages and Studying Bilinguals. I’ve only read this last one which came out last year. I devoured it as soon as I got my hands on it because I was able to relate to so many of the things he wrote about. His blog, Life as a Bilingual, which I’ve linked to many times on our Facebook fan page, is an extension of his book and all his work. Highly recommended!

2) Consigue que tu hijo sea bilingüe by Barbara Zurer Pearson – The Spanish translation of Raising a Bilingual Child, written by our very own expert and translated and published by Bilingual Readers – who will publish our own book in the Fall 2012, this was like our bible when we first started trying to figure out how to raise bilingual children. Pearson definitely knows this subject well and now that it is available in Spanish, more parents can take advantage of her knowledge. If you’re raising bilingual children, you need to read this book.

3) Bilingual by Choice by Virginie Raguenaud – This is another great book to read if you’re raising children with more than one language. It is extremely easy to read and has tons of useful resources including activities and techniques for making sure your children stay bilingual. I particularly enjoyed the uncommon ideas she shares for exposing your bilingual children to the minority language. Raguenaud is bilingual and is raising bilingual (English/French) twins.

4) Multilinguals are …? by Madalena Cruz-Ferreira – While I haven’t read this book yet, it’s definitely on my must-read list because it deals with myths, paradoxes and misconceptions about multilingualism, which, as we all know, are so prevalent, especially in this country. I strongly believe that if we’re able to eradicate all the unfounded beliefs surrounding bilingualism, lots of things will change in this country when it comes to raising children with more than one language. You can find additional information about Cruz-Ferreira’s latest book, as well as several reviews, on her blog, Being Multilingual.

5) Bilingual Siblings: Language Use in Families by Suzanne Barron-Hauwaert. This one I haven’t read either, but I have read several articles written by Barron-Hauwaert and I remember actually getting in touch with her when I was researching the topic of raising a second child when I was pregnant with Santiago. At the time, she was working on this book and I’ve really been waiting for it to be ready because this is another one of those bilingualism topics which interest me for obvious reasons. I’ve often wonder if English will be the common language between Vanessa and Santiago as they get older because they currently speak in Spanish. Barron-Hauwaert is not only a researcher, but also the mother of three bilingual children. Should be interesting!

Do you have any recommendations for the rest of us? We’d love to add them to our list, so please share in the comments below or add a link to our guide below.

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I’m not sure at what moment it hit me, but this summer I was determined to take my three kids, ages 9, 6, and 5 abroad for a cultural immersion experience. I wasn’t sure where we were going yet, I only knew that I wanted to be immersed in either the French or Spanish language and culture.

Why did I want to do this? Well, 34 years ago I was born in Mexico City, Mexico, to a Mexican mother and a Haitian father. We left Mexico for Haiti when I was still a baby. Around the age of 3, we moved to New York City and have been in the States since then. While I grew up listening to Selena, eating mole on special occasions, and hearing my parents speak Spanish at home, my brother and I spoke only English. My parents wanted us to help them learn English so we focused on learning English and eventually forgot how to speak Spanish and French. Even though we spoke English with my parents,  my parents  taught us about the Mexican and Haitian traditions.

As a bi-cultural mother married to an African-American, I have a big job ahead of me. I have three different cultures to teach my children. Even though I cook food my mother and aunts have taught me to cook, and my iPod has both new and traditional artists from Haiti and Mexico, I knew that something was missing. It wasn’t just that we didn’t speak Spanish at home, it was much more than that. It was the experience of going home and being totally immersed in the culture and the language, smelling the air, touching the soil.

When we were children, my brother and I visited Mexico and Haiti several times. The earliest memory I have was going to Haiti the summer before I entered second grade. One morning, we were in Miami, Florida and by lunch we were in Port au Prince, Haiti. Even though I was only 7, I still have many memories from that trip and our subsequent trips to Mexico.   Those trips defined who I was and where I came from. I had a better understanding of my culture and family traditions.

It was this sort of experience that I wanted for my children. After careful planning, we chose Mexico over Haiti. We would spend a few days in Mexico City to visit with family and the rest of our time would be in San Miguel de Allende. San Miguel is a small colonial town located 180 miles north of Mexico City. It is rich in history, culture, and the arts. There is a small population of Americans that live there either full or part-time and, as a result, there are many great bilingual summer programs for international kids. The programs offer  cooking classes, crafts and arts, Mexican history, and of course, Spanish.

In preparation for our trip, I checked out a number of different books on Mexico for children. We learned about the history, I showed the kids a map of where we were going, what we would see, and what we would do. I wanted to prepare them as much as possible to eliminate some of their natural fears they had about going away for a month. They were going to miss their friends at home, their rooms, and were scared about not knowing anyone of the language. I was also scared about going, not sure how they would react, whether our rental home would be suitable, or if we would make any friends.

Now, that we are back home, I can say that the experience well exceeded my expectations. We made many friends, we learned more than I could’ve learned in books and videos about Mexico, and  the children are now speaking a little Spanish. Sure there were moments where they missed home, missed their daddy (who was only able to stay for a week with us due to work), and wanted to eat “plain food.” My son learned how to make tortillas from scratch, the children made beautiful piñatas, and met other children from Switzerland to California. I have no regrets about our trip and know that I hope to be able to return next summer. We promised our new friends that we would be back, gave kisses to our new teachers, and promised to Skype from America and stay in touch.

*** All images courtesy and copyright Justice Jonesie.

Justice Jonesie is a recovering lawyer, mother of three beautiful children, and blogger at JusticeJonesie.com and Mamalaw.com. She blogs about travel, fitness, and the joys and challenges of motherhood. In 2009, Jonesie founded the Blogalicious Weekend conferences. Born in Mexico City, Mexico to a Mexican mother and a Haitian father, Jonesie is on a journey to raise her children biculturally in the Southern town of Jacksonville, Florida.

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{Ana and I in San Diego}

Ana and I have a big announcement to make today: SpanglishBaby will soon be a book! We’re writing un libro!

A couple of months ago, we were approached by Bilingual Readers – a bilingual publishing house based in Spain which we highly respect and whose bilingual children’s books we’ve reviewed in the past – to see if we’d be interested in taking SpanglishBaby to yet another level by publishing a book about raising bilingual and bicultural children in the United States today. Our response was a resounding: ¡claro que sí!

SpanglishBaby turns 2 1/2 years old tomorrow – yes, we published our first post Feb. 9, 2009 and you can click here to read it), but it feels like we’ve been at it for much longer. Maybe it’s all the hours and hours of work we’ve put into it or the amazingly supportive community we’ve become. And, although Ana and I had talked about the possibility of one day turning the blog into a book, we didn’t think the opportunity would arise only two years after we launched.  It´s set to be published on Fall 2012 and we are set to deliver!

Ana and I got to spend the last few days together in San Diego. A rarity we fully took advantage of by talking not only about the future of SpanglishBaby but with an incredibly productive breakfast meeting to organize ourselves as we venture into the exciting realm of writing our first book. We were able to figure out a lot of things, but other things are still pending.

So, as we jump into this new adventure, we hope you won’t mind that, along the way, we may ask for your opinion on certain topics. We’d like for this book to be an extension of the blog and we know that without your input, it would make no sense. If you have any particular ideas about what you’d like to see in the book or just questions you think need to be answered to make this bilingual and bicultural journey a bit easier or more realistic, you know how to reach us!

Raising bilingual and bicultural children is not something we only write passionately about, but also something we believe in wholeheartedly. This book represents another vehicle through which we can continue to spread the value and need behind raising our children so they can survive in this global society without forgetting sus raíces. Nothing could make us happier! We surely hope you feel the same way!

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Got A Story About Mexico To Share? It Could Win You $500!

As you know, since June I’ve been sharing stories about the Read more ...

Editor’s note: This is Part 6 in a continuing series by Amy Conroy. To read the other parts, go here. Although this is the last one from San Miguel de Allende, Amy has promised one more post a few weeks after they’re back home in Los Angeles to share their impressions on their immersion adventure. We hope you’ve enjoyed living vicariously through Amy and her kids as much as we have!

This will be short and sweet as I am sad to leave, but we get on our flight tonight and admittedly, we’re excited about going home too. A beautiful nameplate on the side of a house that encapsulates my feelings about San Miguel…

True, we’re all thrilled by the prospect of living under one roof.  My boys have already planned sleepovers with their best friends and we plan to celebrate our homecoming California style ~ on the beach!

But I will bring back mezcal to share along with my plans to return for 6 months in January! It was just too amazing to walk away from. And after you’ve had one of the best meals of your life at a particular restaurant – wouldn’t you go back? And order the same thing? On my honeymoon, I ordered tuna tartare at every meal.

Again, it’s the kids that are the clincher. Their Spanish grew and improved so rapidly that they were astonished, and a bit disgusted, when they needed to translate for me the other day. The schools were lovely – I have nothing but admiration for these teachers and administrators.  The kids brim with flourishment – and how could I not want a second cup of that?

So, hasta pronto to Canada de la Virgen…

Hasta la proximo vez al D.F., Mexico City, Tenochtitlan…

The Jardin and Parroquia…

Parque Juarez…

Our beautiful home we’ve shared while here…

The fountains…

History…

La Gruta & hot springs…

Helados, nieves, elote y guacamole…

Thank you to all of our friends who introduced us to the magic here… who brought the warmth of friendship to the new and exciting, and kept it all personal in the exotic and different.

I am grateful to our friends at home for their support of our endeavor, and offer a mil gracias to my husband for all of his miles logged and time spent in LAX customs. Thank you, SpanglishBaby, for indulging my tales and for all of your encouragement.

We are leaving, but we’ll be back. I will be nervous to return I’m sure… because it’s not that I don’t see all the bugs, or smell the uncomfortable stench, or read the papers. This is a country built on passion and not for the faint of heart (i.e. blood and gore are regular aspects of all religious, political, and social life), yet still I am not dissuaded. And still, I am not yet satiated. It’s an Achilles heel…

~ random leftovers from the last 4 months ~

Favorite quotes:

“Why does Daddy speak like an English person?” – Calvin (5) to me, when Daddy pointed out “basura”… uh, bcuz he is American?

“¿Cómo estás, ojo de pescado?” – 5 to 7 year old jokesters after learning about plantars wart

“¡No le toca!” – Cecilia’s first Spanish phrase, that she repeated over & over & over

“If you’re not nice, nobody will want to sleep with you” – me to 3 kids, because we all slept in one bed for the first month.  Prophetic, no?

“What is his name? Cowboy?” – new preschool mini-friend asking me Calvin’s name (unusual in Spanish)

“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do.”  – Mark Twain

Spanish words that, when confused, can be either a) amusing or b) alarming:

• embarazada vs. vergüenza (pregnant vs. embarrassed)
• borracho vs. berrinche (drunk vs. tantrum)
• chulo vs. chula (pimp vs. cute)

Other things we’re bringing back (aside from Spanish):

• new name for a fish: ‘ojo de pescado’
• stronger stomach
• sparkly 10 lb geode found on canyon floor
• baby/individual sized Tajin’s
• ‘Wizard’ costume designed by Jack and hand-sewn
• several pair of cowboy boots
• new appreciation for plumbing and electricity
• laissez-faire attitude toward fireworks
• princess love by Cecilia; my acceptance of said state
• naranjada mineral!!!
• the mexi-dog we’ve always wanted, named “Hola Ricky Fuente”, who followed my kids home one day   http://www.saveamexicanmutt.org/

Amy Conroy is the mother of three young children and holds a Master’s degree in Anthropology. An advocate of bilingualism, Amy founded habla blah blah (www.hablablahblah.com) and is passionate about introducing non-native speakers to Spanish through music and fun. Amy is a native Los Angelean on extended leave in San Miguel de Allende, Guanajuato, MX. She also contributes to Dotcoms for Moms (http://www.dotcomsformoms.com) as their ‘modern maven’.

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{Photo credit: Howard County Library System}

I was thrilled when Ana posted a link to a story about the first national Spanish spelling bee on our Facebook fan page this past weekend. I eagerly read the BBC story and then went searching for more because, by that time, the bee had already taken place and I wanted to find out who had won.

It was a seventh grade girl, Evelyn Juárez, from Santa Fe, N.M. I wasn’t surprised since that state has been holding spelling bees since 1994. Evelyn had to spell both kanindeyuense (someone from Kanindeyú, Paraguay) and bizantinismo correctly in order to win. There were 11 students from New Mexico, Oregon, Texas, Minnesota and Colorado in grades 4-8.

Every news story about this event brought up the fact that a spelling bee in Spanish would be much easier than the one in English since, except with very few exceptions, words in Spanish are written just like they sound. I can see the point of this statement, but I still think there are a lot of words which are very difficult to spell in Spanish, especially when Spanish is not your mother tongue. I see it all the time with those who have learned Spanish as a second language. Heck, it even happens to many who’ve known Spanish all their lives. They have issues with the silent h, with s, c and z, using diéresis and definitely with accents. So no, I’m not so sure Spanish spelling bees can be so much easier than English ones. (By the way, let it be known that before all this I had no idea what kanindeyuense was nor would I have known how to spell it without looking it up.)

Either way, I still think there is tremendous value in making an event like this a competition at the national level. It is undeniable than it elevates the status of Spanish so that those kids growing up bilingual — with Spanish as their mother tongue or as the lucky students of a dual language immersion program — can finally be proud to speak Spanish as a second language. The national Spanish spelling bee gives them prestige and importance. And no one can argue with that.

I would be the proudest mother in the world if either one of my kids ever made it to a competition like this. While winning would be the ultimate prize, I think just getting there would be an accomplishment that would do wonders for their self-esteem in a country which still doesn’t really get the value of bilingualism. The mom of one of the contestants, a girl from San Antonio, TX who was the third student to be disqualified, said it best when she texted the following in Spanish to her daughter when she was eliminated:

“I want you to know that nothing makes me more happy to know that you gave it your all. You were the only one from San Antonio, and we are all very proud you made it that far.” (San Antonio Express-News)

Finally, I was saddened (but no surprised) to read that this same girl was shocked by some of the comments left on the San Antonio Express-News’ story  – which have now been deleted by that newspaper – about her participation in the spelling bee. I’ve no idea what they said, but I can only imagine some of the typical derogatory observations made by ignorant commenters. In the end, I think the fact that we now have a national Spanish spelling bee shows the real growing power of Latinos and the beautiful language that unites us.

What do you think this means to Latinos? How would you feel if your bilingual kids made it to this competition?

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photo by paulshaffner

Once we were married, my husband and I had put the worst behind us. Our families ended up showing for the wedding, despite our being interracial and interfaith, and that was a triumph on its own. Not long afterward, we were due for our daughter, Lilyana. We waited anxiously to find out what she would act and look like and how her beautiful little voice would sound. But, the news of our coming hijita brought new challenges in dealing with our family. There were fears from our families about how she would be raised, with what culture, which language and who’s values.

My husband and I knew that we would teach her both sides of her heritage and intertwine them together, but our families doubted just how well biracial children could grasp either side of their dual heritage and worried that one might “invade” the other. When it came to raising our daughter bilingual my family had fears that they would be left out and unable to communicate with our daughter and his family worried that she wouldn’t have enough Spanish fluency to grasp her heritage as a Latina. Both sides of the argument concerned us as parents. We spent much of the first year of our daughter’s life easing the fears of our families and demonstrating to them the “completeness” of our intercultural family identity.

When it came to bilingual fluency, I never feared that my daughter would lose her English abilities, as my family did. Neither myself or my husband are fluent in Spanish, so it has never been a concern for us. But unfortunately, we often heard criticism from some members of my family who didn’t appreciate hearing a language that they couldn’t understand, even if it was only just a few words of affection here and there. It got to the point where we were not “allowed” to speak Spanish when we were around my family.

On the other end of the spectrum, my in-laws would push our daughter to respond in Spanish and criticize our parenting skills if she didn’t respond to their liking. They would refuse her if she didn’t communicate in Spanish and I would watch my daughter turn away hurt, because she couldn’t gain their affections. On both sides we were hurt by family members who failed to see that they were alienating our little bilingual familia by expecting us to be one way or another out of their own personal fears.

My daughter is nearly three now and I’m disappointed that I can’t claim that these issues are completely behind us, but I’m encouraged that my family has grown in their understanding of our multicultural lifestyle. Mis sobrinos bounce on their mommys’ knees chanting, “brinca! brinca! brinca!“, they love to ask “uncle Ricky” about Mexican culture and foods, and they now feel justified in starting conversations with Latinos that they meet at school or in the supermarket. TV shows like Dora and Handy Manny have helped further by educating non-Spanish speaking niños on tidbits of language and culture…helping them to feel like “insiders” rather than “outsiders” and opening children up to a whole new world of diversity that they would otherwise be a foreigner to. This helps them to feel that they have a claim to Latino culture and makes it easier for us when we visit because they want to talk about it with us. I know that it’s because of our family’s influence and I’m proud of that progress.

Despite the fact that there is still racial tension between our families, the heightened awareness and acceptance of Latino culture by my nephews makes me very hopeful for the future. Everyone in our family has come to adore our daughter despite prejudice, and for most, their fears about her developing language confusion have slowly fizzled out. My family is learning more Spanish and becoming more comfortable with bilingual communication overall, and mis sobrinos take pride in their connection to Latino heritage and all the new words and ideas they are discovering. Amongst her primos, my daughter is “the cool one”…now that is cool!

Chantilly Patiño lives in the Midwest and loves to explore new cultures and relationships. As well as being the founder of MulticulturalFamilia.com, she writes on her personal blog, BiculturalMom.com, about diversity, discrimination, parenting, relationships, and other important topics relevant to ‘bicultural’ families.

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{Photo by: SCA Svenska Cellulosa Aktiebolaget}

It was a lovely sight. A dozen children, most of them preschoolers, all speaking Spanish — and some English – in the backyard of my house. I hadn’t hosted a meetup for my bilingual playgroup in a long, long time. And I’m so happy I finally did.

We’re about to celebrate our three year anniversary as a group and I can honestly say that the friendships both my children and I have made because of it are priceless. I was lucky to join the group as it was being formed and got to attend the first meetup ever back in June 2008. At the time, I only had Vanessa who was almost 2 years old. The organizer’s daughter and mine hit it right off and became instant friends.

I use to assist and organize tons of meetups at the beginning because I was a SAHM, just starting to research this whole blogging thing in preparation of what eventually became SpanglishBaby. I had a ton of time in my hands and I’m so grateful I happened to find a group like this online. Not only have I met all kinds of wonderful people, but I’ve ensured that my bilingual and bicultural children have friends who are growing up just like them.

We’ve written before about the power and importance of playgroups, but just to bring the point home even further, I wanted to share with you what one of the moms in our group – for whom Spanish is not a native language, but is raising two bilingual and bicultural daughters together with her Mexican husband – wrote about the recent meetup at my house:

I was ecstatic when I read my friend’s update on Facebook because, in the end, that is what the whole point of our playgroup is all about. If only we could do it more often. Vanessa hasn’t refused to speak Spanish yet, and I’m praying to all the gods that she never does. But I know that the possibility lurks right around the corner as she starts her all-English journey the first of August when she begins Kindergarten. I know I’ll have to rely much heavier on my playgroup to help make sure she still has exposure to Spanish in a playful setting and not just at home with us.

Finally, I also wanted to share a little anecdote about how connected our bilingual and bicultural children feel when they meet others like them. Vanessa attended summer camp at the same preschool she’s been going to for the past three years. This time around she lucked out and had a bilingual and bicultural girl – that we’ve known outside the school, but haven’t really frequented that much – in her class. When I went to pick her up after her first day at the camp, her teacher told me Vanessa and her friend had spent all day speaking Spanish, in their own little world. I was ecstatic. And then, in the car on the way home, Vanessa revealed the news like it was the best thing that had happened to her in a long time. I was even more ecstatic.

Vanessa’s friend and her mom – who’s my friend – were over at our house for the meetup we recently hosted. When I told the mom about Vanessa’s excitement regarding her daughter, she told me her daughter felt exactly the same. There’s just something about realizing you’re not alone in this bilingual and bicultural journey!

If you belong to a bilingual or Spanish playgroup like mine, we beg you to leave your info in our Forums so others can find you. If you’d like to start one in your area, we invite you to also visit the Forum and share your information.

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The Power of Moms and Bilingual Playgroups!

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photo by needoptic

I will never forget the first time I had a PB&J sandwich – it was in Tampa, Florida, at the Chamberlain Senior High School cafeteria, circa 1985. Yes, what a strange thing to remember, but for me the discovery of peanut butter mixed with purple jelly at 15 was a memorable one as it marked the first of many new and different experiences I would have during my stint as a foreign exchange student in los Estados Unidos.

My parents always had a plan: to seek better opportunities in life, even if that meant leaving their home country of Peru. I think moving to the U.S. was a logical choice for them, as they were fluent in English. They were practically newlyweds when they secured student visas and despite family objections they moved to Miami where they hoped to build a new future. Then came little I, but before I could wobble about without falling my parents were forced to return to their homeland after their visas expired. My father was a stickler to the rule of law, and staying in the U.S. without permission was not an option. I know they were disappointed, but for them it was a given that one day I would return to the place of my birth.

A few months before my 16th birthday, my mother, the progressive-thinking woman that she’s always been, decided it would do me well to get immersed in the cultura Americana, so I would know what to expect when the time came to leave the nest and find my own future in the U.S. My mom located a group that specialized in organizing the exchange between students in the U.S. and Peru. I was to be immersed in the American culture by spending most of my Summer vacation living with an American family, attending high school, working, and learning new things.

I remember being very apprehensive about this new plan my mother had concocted, even though by that time in my life I had lived in 4 different countries spanning 3 continents, spoke English fluently, some French, and even some Afrikaans and a bit of Zulu(!), which I had learned while living in South Africa. My point is – it wasn’t like I hadn’t been in new territory before, yet what caused me the most stress was that I would be away from my parents for the first time in my life.

My host family, (a father who was raising three beautiful daughters along with his second wife) waited for me at the airport with open arms. I spotted my American sisters right away – they were holding up a huge, colorful “Welcome, Gloria!” sign. Our cultural differences became evident almost immediately when I proceeded to kiss every member of the family, something that took them by surprise a bit, as I later learned that hugging was their preferred form of greeting. I initially had trouble understanding their fast-paced English, and as I walked with them to the car wearing my Peruvian knit sweater (thanks, Mom!) and eyeing their cool clothes, modern hairstyles, and perfectly applied makeup, I felt like an outsider. Little did I know that a few months later we would all be back to the same spot kissing, hugging, crying, and swearing eternal friendship.

Photo courtesy of G. Schendzielos

My short experience as an exchange student in the U.S. was something that I will never forget. Simply put, it was a breath of fresh air and an opportunity to learn about another culture and about myself – and aside from the peanut butter and jelly discovery, there are many other American memories that I still hold close to my heart: My first jobs in the U.S. with my American sister, Traci – learning how to scoop ice cream for anxious customers at Baskin Robbins (still my favorite ice cream) – and babysitting (something that was so foreign to me, as my parents paid live-in maids to take care of my siblings and I as kids); getting lessons in the art of applying makeup by my oldest American sister and later cruising in her Corvette around town and feeling important; discovering Judy Blume books, high school parties, and blasting Billy Idol on my sister’s portable cassette player; going to the mall and clutching a teddy bear while getting my ears pierced for a second time; trying out for the cheerleading squad (and not making it); being picked up for my first real date with a boy (and hearing my American dad give the necessary pre-date lecture); rushing to KFC with that boy (my new boyfriend, Mike) at lunchtime and devouring hot biscuits with honey under the bleachers; skipping school for a day and driving with Mike on his Dodge pickup to Busch Gardens – and getting seriously grounded afterwards; and so many, many more.

Photo courtesy of G. Schendzielos

It has been more than 25 years, but I still remember walking towards my parents at the airport sporting high top Converse sneakers, a Psychedelic Furs t-shirt, two earrings in each ear, a boom box under my arms, and Mike’s “dog tags” around my neck, and feeling like a new and improved version of myself – inside and out. I can’t thank my parents enough for being so open-minded and giving me the chance to learn about another culture, one that today I consider my own.

Gloria Maria Schendzielos moved permanently to the U.S. a couple of years after her exchange-student experience. Gloria lived in Miami until 11 years ago, when she moved to Colorado to attend law school. Today, Gloria is a licensed attorney, practicing law in the areas of criminal and family law. Gloria has raised a bilingual and bicultural daughter, who just turned 20. Gloria recently reconnected with one of her American sisters on Facebook, and they plan to get together soon in Florida.

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My husband is not huge on Father’s Day, but he loves it when Vanessa (and now Santiago) makes stuff for him, whether it is a drawing or a cookie. Since she is out of school already, there wasn’t going to be any crafts made by her as a gift for him on Sunday. Until I found this really cool and easy-to-do craft to make your own stepping stones for your garden. It’s called Made by Me Stepping Stones Kit and you can get it for a mere $9.97 at Walmart.

I think this is the perfect craft, even if you have small children. Both my children participated, but I must warn you, the plaster mix dries up much faster than you’d think. Anyhow, the result is a cool keepsake that Dad can display for everyone to see. My husband loves to take care of the yards in our house and, together, Vanessa and him have created a cute little flower garden right by the entrance of our house.

We will be painting and decorating these together, but I already love that both my children’s handprints are recorded on these stepping stones!

In keeping with the idea of giving the father of my children keepsakes he could cherish, I immediately jumped at the idea of this recordable keepsake book from Hallmark, aptly named, Dad and Me. This book is part of their new Conversations series and I have to say I love it. The idea is that kids say the cutest and funniest things and the book is a place to record these prompted by the questions written on its pages.

While Santiago is still too young to do anything like this, Vanessa was super excited and we recorded all the answers in just one sitting! I translated the questions to Spanish and then let Vanessa answer whatever came to her mind.

Dad and Me is also available at Walmart for $21.99

Disclosure: As part of the Walmart Moms program, we received  compensation and the products to facilitate this post . As always, all stories and opinions are our own.

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