1. Sometimes, things would simply get lost in translation...
#growinguphispanic when your mom knows more Spanish than English
2. ...and so you had to become the translator for anyone and everyone.
When my mom tells me to translate something for her
3. You were even translating official government documents, medical records, and making phone calls for your parents at the age of 9.
⠀ (\__/) ⠀ (•ㅅ•) 8yr old me talking to ＿ノ ヽ ノ＼ __ customer service / `/ ⌒Ｙ⌒ Ｙ ヽ over the phone ( (三ヽ人 / | | ﾉ⌒＼ ￣￣ヽ ノ ヽ＿＿＿＞､＿＿_／ ｜( 王 ﾉ〈 (\__/) my immigrant /ﾐ`ー―彡\ (•ㅅ•) parents
4. And when you wouldn't know how something translates directly, you'd get hit with the "¿Entonces para qué vas a la escuela?"
Me: completely fluent in Spanish and English Also Me when my parents ask me to translate
5. If your friends ever found out you spoke Spanish, they would never leave you alone about it.
#GrowingUpHispanic "Let me hear you speak Spanish! Say something in Spanish!" Me:
6. Or they tried to show you how "well" they knew it too. Spoiler: It was never any good.
After a client hears my name and starts trying to speak to me in Spanish.
7. You made it through years of ESL and managed to learn one of the hardest languages on Earth, on top of your regular school work too.
Fourteen years ago, I just moved from Argentina and was taking ESL classes. Today, I taught my first class at @uofoklahoma as an adjunct professor. I’m grateful to @GaylordCollege and OU for the opportunity! What possibilities! 🇦🇷🇹🇼
8. But you often found yourself mixing that English with Spanish throughout your life anyway to get your point across, because sometimes Spanish just hits in a way English can't.
Spanglish texting with my sis who lives in Cali haha.
9. You were far more familiar with Spanish music just because your parents didn't listen to anything else, and as you grew older, those hits became your nostalgia playlist.
The older I get, the more I appreciate older Spanish music. Makes me reminisce being a kid again.
10. And you questioned whether every voice was the same on all the dubbed movies your family would watch on Telefutura and Telemundo.
#TodayKidsWillNeverKnow about Family movie nights on Telefutura bruh
11. Spanish often became your own little secret language if the people around you didn't speak it.
Me and my mom went to Walmart to buy last min travel essentials and we were speaking in Spanish like I have all my life and the lady in front of us in line glared at us so hard .. I kept speaking in Spanish LOL
12. And those who didn't like it were just jealous they couldn't get in on all the fun.
My co worker said I was rude for speaking Spanish in front of her GUESS WHO ONLY SPEAKS SPANISH IN FRONT OF HER NOW
13. But you were always quick to throw out a "¿Qué dijiste?" in case someone assumed you didn't speak Spanish and tried to talk behind your back.
Secret spanish speaker mode has worked so far. The people in my row are already talking about me
14. Sitting through the birthday song can be awkward enough, but you often had to sit through two versions of it.
#GrowingUpHispanic singing happy birthday twice at every birthday party: once in English and once in Spanish
15. Since different countries have their own special way of speaking Spanish, you had a hard time understanding someone who spoke it in a different way or used words you didn't even know existed.
me trying to understand the dominican spanish in dembow songs
16. But you nonetheless found camaraderie in other people who spoke Spanish when no one else around you did.
Getting an extra scoop of food from that one lunch lady you spoke to in Spanish #GrowingUpHispanic
17. Your parents were afraid you'd forget your Spanish...
Yo, cuando me preguntan si ya se me olvidó el español...
18. ...but that'll never happen, because it's the language that will always remind you of home.
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