It’s official! My 3-year-old son’s vocabulary in English has multiplied exponentially the last couple of months, and he’s starting to have a preference for his new language. I’ve been observing him closely lately and I am pretty amazed by the fact that whenever he plays by himself, English is his language of choice. Nothing wrong with that, except that it’s all totally new for me because his sister didn’t really do that.

I’m pretty sure it has to do with the fact that Santiago has been exposed to a lot more English much earlier than Vanessa, who didn’t go to school full time until she entered kindergarten. And now I can see how much easier it could be for him to go through the rebellion stage and start refusing to speak Spanish — something his sister has not done… yet.

My boy spends most of his day immersed in English, even now that school’s out because I enrolled him at our local rec center’s summer camp. Every day he surprises me with new phrases and tons of play vocabulary he has obviously learned while having fun with his little friends.

Read more: Watching in Awe As My Son Becomes Bilingual

I am so impressed by my son and his amazing language abilities, and though I should be at least a little bit concerned about the influence all this English will have on his Spanish, I am not. But that’s only because his English immersion experience is about to drastically change.

We’re embarking in a summer adventure I’ve been wanting to make a reality for a couple of years now: immersion travel. We’re going to Puerto Rico in a couple of weeks where we plan to stay for a month with my husband’s family. My children have 10 primos hermanos over there, with at least six of them in their same age group.

I’m super excited that they’ll be attending summer camp with some of their cousins, but mostly that they’ll be spending a ton of time immersed in Spanish and our Latino culture. Both of them are incredibly happy about this adventure and are counting the days until we get on the plane. Vanessa has been to Puerto Rico twice in her short life, but she doesn’t really remember. Santiago has never been, so everything will be completely new to him — especially because most of my husband’s family has never met him.

I’m hoping to make this a summer tradition so that when my kids get a little older, we can send them over there for the whole summer, like we did with my stepson, who is now 22 and fully bilingual thank, in a big way, to the summers he spent immersed in Spanish with his cousins in Puerto Rico.

It was a Monday afternoon, my husband and I were in the kitchen watching an episode of House Hunters International, we turned to look at each other and our eyes said it all, at that moment we decided to grab our children and go on an adventure.

From the moment we knew we were going to be parents, my husband and I knew that our children would be bilingual. But at that time we did not imagine how challenging it would be to live and nurture our children in a multicultural and bilingual environment.

The language that my children learned first was Spanish, obviously, as they were with me all the time, little by little we started using the  OPOL method by chance, everything was fine until my oldest son started school and decided he did not want to speak Spanish anymore. When my second child made his appearance, the favorite language to communicate between them was English.

I didn’t stop reading to them in Spanish, putting music in Spanish and introducing Spanish to them as it presented in our lives, however, despite my efforts, English was winning.

When my husband and I decided to launch into the adventure of living in another country for a few months, we did not hesitate, we decided to go to Mexico. I left my country in 2001 and had gone back to visit only for short periods of time, the idea of living with family, enjoy the food and immerse my children in Spanish was very tempting, so we opened our arms to the world and sent out our desire…

After nearly eight months in Mexico these are three things I have learned from this experience:

Every child is different: a relative of ours and bilingual educator as well said “in five months your kids will level with other children their age and in their grade.” Yes and no, my oldest son started speaking Spanish in only five weeks! It took my younger son 5 months.

You have to be patient and then more patient: My kids were happy the first week, when they saw family, enjoyed the delicious food (and pastries) and immersed in their new surroundings. The second week was more difficult, let alone the third, when they realized they would not return to California for a while, their reaction made me doubt our decision for a moment. Listening to Spanish all day long was tiring and they felt pushed aside, not understanding what was happening around them. But nothing lasts forever, and our patience paid off.

If opportunity knocks at your door, take it: I remember that when we shared our plans with my mom she told us, “Silvia, have you thought this through?” To which I replied “Of course not, Mom! If we think it through, we’d never do it. “And this is what I like to share the most. Sometimes you have to be courageous and take a leap of faith. If not, how would you know what will happen?

We also felt fear, doubt and uncertainty, and now that we’re only a few weeks from going back to California, all these feelings seem unfounded. This experience has given our children unbelievable memories, allowed them to experience first-hand their Latino heritage, their culture, their roots. They’ve eatenpan dulce, ice cream, tacos, tostadas, fresh orange juice, quesadillas with salsa verde to the max. This experience has made them feel they are part of a Mexican family, has exposed them to a lifestyle very different from the United States, but most of all, it has made them 100% bilingual. Every time I hear their beautiful voices speak to me in Spanish, my heart swells with pride.

¡Lo logramos!

{Photo by schlaeger}

Silvia Martinez is founder of award-winning Mamalatinatips.com, a Spanish-English bilingual blog, where she writes about kids, health, fashion, beauty, Disney and yummy Mexican food. She is also Editor-in-Chief of Disneylandiaaldia.com, the first Spanish-language blog in the United States covering the Disneyland Resort. Mom to two rambunctious, bilingual boys, Silvia’s recent adventures include taking close-ups of piñata smashing, photographing tostadas before they go soggy, celebrating Dia de Muertos in Mexico, and riding Toy Story Mania at Disney’s California Adventure…nine times in-a-row!

Editor’s note: We present you another informative post full of helpful tips on things to keep in mind if you’re thinking about immersion travel. Today’s post was written by Becky Morales, one of our regular contributors, who spends summers in Mexico with her four children and who participated in our SpanglishBaby Google+ Hangout on immersion travel earlier this week. 

Have you ever thought about taking your kids abroad for the summer, as an intensive language experience? Not only would they be immersed in day-to-day language, but also they would have the incredible opportunity to learn about the culture firsthand. Planning a summer abroad and preparing to travel with young children may seem like a daunting task to undertake; while it does take a lot of work, an organized plan can help make it less overwhelming.

The first step in planning a summer abroad is to determine the location. While some of us will automatically stay with family members or friends, others might choose a completely a new location. Through word of mouth and research, narrow your choices down to a country, region, or city. We normally go to Mexico City to stay with relatives, but this year we chose the Yucatán peninsula, because there are so many places nearby we would like to experience with our children.

Next, decide if you’ll stay with friends or relatives, pay to have a homestay (living with a local family), rent an apartment, or hop from hotel to pension around the region. Think creatively about lodging:

• Would you ever consider house-swapping? There are web sites (such as HomeLink, HomeExchange, or Intervac Home Exchange) for families who would like to swap their house with someone in another country for a set amount of time.
• Check expat forums on-line, or yahoo groups dedicated to specific locations for house-sitting opportunities, especially during holidays and summer when expats frequently come back home. We found an amazing opportunity to housesit a mini-farm near Alajuela, Costa Rica. Our children were too young at the time, though I would love to do so in the future!
• Look up a local real estate agent for monthly rentals. Though uncommon in the US and some areas abroad, there are some areas where families can rent apartments by the month.

Whatever you decide, consider your transportation, and factor in public transportation into the budget. For special, longer trips we have rented a car for the day — but mostly we use taxis and local buses while abroad.

Before going abroad, decide if your or your children will be taking classes, volunteering, or just doing some slow-travel. During the summer — but remember that summer in the US is not always summer break in other countries — there are many day camps and summer schools that might interest your children.

Many of these cursos de verano are not on-line and must be found once in country. Fortunately, it isn’t always necessary to register the kids months in advance as is customary in the US. When you get to your destination, look at health clubs, park districts, community centers, dance studios, art studios, martial arts gyms, soccer camps- the possibilities are endless.

If volunteering is your goal, check out nonprofits in the area. We have visited orphanages, brought donations to schools, and this summer we’re excited to go on sea turtle patrol and participate in beach clean-ups. Volunteering gives your kids another perspective, develops empathy, and helps kids feel they are a part of something bigger.

Finally, in the months before we travel, we take out tons of guidebooks from our library to research what we want to see and do when we get there. Over dinner, our family discusses exciting day trips or cool places we want to visit while we’re there. We want to balance the different types of “field trips” because- frankly- kids get bored if you pack in all ruinas or all museos. Variety is the key: ecological/natural sights like bio-parks, river tours; places to see wildlife like reservas or snorkeling; cultural sights like a visit to a Mayan village; historical tours of an haciendas for example; pueblos, beaches, or ruins.

Are you planning an immersion travel trip this summer? What other planning tips do you have for families?

{Photo courtesy of Becky Morales}

Editor’s note: We continue our week-long series about immersion travel. The following post was written by Amy Conroy — creator of habla, blah, blah — who spent six months in San Miguel de Allende with her three children and wrote all about their experiences for SpanglishBaby back in 2011-2012. She was also one of our guests on our SpanglishBaby LIVE Google+ Hangout on immersion travel.

That is really my biggest worry – what if we never have another trip like that?!? What if that was the best we ever have? What if that was The Biggest Adventure of our Lives? I cannot explain how rewarding and glorious our last six months in Mexico were. Our time there changed our lives and our perspectives forever. There’s no going back (to who we were) and on my darkest days, I am prone to fits of melancholy at the thought of no future immersion travel/living.

But with our experience does come perspective, and there are things I would do differently and things I would do more.

Basics: food, water, shelter

Food is easy — you eat local, which luckily for us was pretty delectable. Water is a whole other issue, but one that I love. The scarcity of potable water in the world is an unfathomed concept to most Americans, but the global reality of its dearth reminds me of how lucky I am and has started a dialogue for us to explore further.

But then you have shelter. Here is where I would do it differently: stay in a place where you feel good and comfortable. During our last long immersion, I tried to save $$ in our accommodations. While that might have suited us fine for a shorter term, six months was too long for us to live ‘normally’ in sub par conditions. My advice would be to spend what is needed so that you and your family enjoy where you rest. You will need a place to recharge when you are immersed in a new language and culture — it’s tiring! Honor that need, and you will have more energy to channel into your immersion experience.

Luxuries: transportation, communication, and emergencies

These are not the essential items for living, but they are key to calmer living while immersed in a new place. First of all, always know where the hospital is for an emergency. Stitches at 10 p.m. was inevitable for at least one of my three children, but peace of mind rather than petrified panic in knowing where to go was helpful. Which is why I argue that, at a certain point, I highly recommend having access to private transportation like a car. Sure, there may be buses and taxis available, but will that suit you in an emergency? It’s easy to bum rides from friends when you are one or two persons, but squeezing an extra five into someone’s car ride to the country quickly becomes cramped.

My last bit of practical advice is to secure an easy way to communicate with home. It’s simple these days (via cell phones or Vonage) and well worth the cost so that you don’t feel estranged from loved ones at home.

Academic life: go immersive, go local, and try to steer clear of other travelers

If you want your child to learn another language, there is no better motivation for them than peer interaction. If they don’t have the option of communicating in their native tongue, they will quickly figure out how to join a game of tag in whatever language is spoken. Though we had spent a great deal of time vacationing in Mexico prior to living there for six months, they learned ten times more Spanish attending a private Mexican school than they ever did during leisure time. I was one proud mama when my eldest read a poem aloud to the parents of the school community, and a friend commented on his lack of accent! I’m not saying it was easy – it was painful to watch them struggle. We knew nobody and were the only Americans in a small, tight-knit local school. It was like Ground Hog Day for the first day of Kindergarten (when your child doesn’t want to go) for six months!! Hard times.

But, worth it.  They are (near) fluent and, eventually, made friends. “Nothing worth gaining was ever gained without effort,” so said Theodore Roosevelt.

Social life: volunteer or work

Immersion for adults is hard, too. It’s easy to connect with others with similar backgrounds, e.g. other Americans, so that is one pathway. However my most rewarding relationships grew from working together on a project when I volunteered with a non-profit. It was an incredible way to meet locals who shared a similar interest – I found “my peops”!

Overall, I’d do it all again, but the next time I’d do it with my husband. Our circumstances didn’t permit him a leave of absence from his job, so it was the four of us (me + 3 kids) most of the time. We rationalized that a temporary six months apart was manageable, since we plan to live the rest of our lives together. But truthfully, that was the hardest aspect of our adventure – not living together as a family unit. We survived it, but I’d be lying to omit that his absence was a major distraction to us all. I don’t want to leave without him again for that long, but two? Three? Four months? Count me in!  I can’t say no… there’s too much at stake.

{Photos courtesy of Amy Conroy}