As Spanish speakers that have lived in the US, China and now Portugal, when my family sits down for dinner we can always expect to be served a very curious ‘language salad’.
Back in 2011, we traded life in our home of Costa Rica, where the tropical sun always shines, for… Chicago. Yes, Chicago, where winter lasts approximately 11 months and your eyelashes freeze just for fun. Our daughter was six months old, our son was born there, and I – a Costa Rican woman who used to own flip-flops in every colour – suddenly had a complicated relationship with snow. Mostly fear.
After surviving three winters (my survival kit: 12 layers of clothing), we moved back to Costa Rica. Our third baby was born under the warm sun, and for a brief moment I thought, Well, that’s it. Our little overseas adventure was nice but that’s it. (Spoiler alert, I was wrong about that.)
Those three years back in Costa Rica were wonderful, even if our first two children came out of them speaking Spanglish so intensely that sometimes even Google Translate would have crashed.
Then came Zhuhai, China in 2021. Suddenly we needed international schools. The expat community came from all corners of the world, yet English was the common ground. Our children’s blended vocabulary and phrasing could have earned frequent-flyer miles. Slowly, stealthily, the English language began eclipsing Spanish at home. Despite laying down a rule – “¡Solo español!” – I caught myself mixing both languages like a barista making a linguistic latte.
And now? We’ve been in Portugal for a year, speaking a language close enough to Spanish that, at first, you think you understand… until you realise you definitely do not. Still, at home, Spanish is slipping again, and Portuguese sneaking in. Sometimes even Chinese makes a random cameo at the dinner table.
We’re basically a walking, talking language salad – and I honestly love it. I feel so blessed that my family has lived in three different continents and learned about each country and its culture through language – even if we have invented our own dialect that no one else may understand!
Grettel Chaves
Grettel Chaves is an expat partner and a mom of three children. She loves sports, especially swimming, learning new languages, trying new food and outdoor activities. After a few years in Zhuhai, China, she now lives in Porto.
Photos: Grettel Chaves
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