cultural travel

I get a bit jealous when I read about other contributors’ travels to visit family in Spanish speaking countries. What a great way to not only connect with family, but also to reinforce the Spanish being taught at home in the United States. Unfortunately, I don’t have family abroad to visit, but I was convinced that my own children would greatly benefit from the experience of visiting another country and being immersed in Spanish. Back in high school I startedRead More ...

This picture is a perfect reflection of how we are trying to raise our daughter with multiple cultures and multiple languages. One foot lies on the northern side of the equator representing her North American (Mexican-American) roots while the other foot lies on the southern side of the equator representing her South American (Ecuadorian) heritage. This may be a stretch, but I think it’s an appropriate one considering our meager attempt to add a third language, but her lack ofRead More ...

Editor’s note: This is Part 5 in a continuing series by Amy Conroy. To read the other parts, go here. What is ‘normal’? ~ the question of my life ~ To be honest, life in Mexico is really not so different than life in the U.S.  The details vary and one might say there is more ‘flavor’, but the basics are the same: Jack has soccer practice, Calvin does art class, Cecilia is starting gymnastics.  I grocery shop, we goRead More ...

I’m sitting here writing this post from my mother’s home in Costa Rica, on what is our third annual summer trip here. Our plan is to keep coming for one month every year, and I’ve been curious to see what changes I might see year to year as my children get older. Yet, as I reread the post I wrote this time last year I had to laugh because everything I wrote then applies this year, too — I almostRead More ...

  Editor’s note: This is Part 4 in a continuing series by Amy Conroy. To read the other parts, go here. I have never lived in such a celebratory environment in my life – the ‘fiesta culture’ here never stops! There are citywide parades and festivals all the time, fiestas and social gatherings for every reason, and childrens’ birthday parties that joyfully extend well past bedtimes. Fireworks are an everyday all-the-time occurrence, which is not easy to imagine until youRead More ...