Compartir

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When Randy and I visited Sonshine Hacienda in August of last year to finalize the plans for our move to San Felipe, one of the first words I realized I didn't know how to say in Spanish was "share."

Imagine working with children all day, and not being able to tell them to share? The lack of this one word in my vocabulary made me feel completely incompetent.


But this one was easy for me to memorize, because as soon as I learned it I started saying it every day, often multiple times a day:
COMPARTIR (pronounced: comb-par-tier): to share
Of course, I've added lots of other words to my vocabulary in the two months that we have been here. (Google translate and I have become fast friends.)


Other important words to know when spending time with children are:

  • puzzles - rompecabezas 
  • kick - golpear
  • fall down - cayó
  • trust - confianza
  • angry - enojado
  • itch - picar
  • stuffed animals - peluches
  • hair bows - moñas 
  • lice - piojos
  • Give it to me - darmelo

The list goes on and on! Will I ever know all the words I need to know??


Several weeks ago, a local professor sent her daughter to us for an evening so I could help her with her English homework. It ended up being a wonderful exercise for both of us, as she explained Spanish words to me and I explained English words to her. She knew quite a bit in English, but struggled with words like "our" and "with" and "about." But by the end of the night she had these three words down pat. And we celebrated! It made me realize that, while I feel like I can't learn fast enough, three or even one new word a day is worth celebrating.  


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