It's fun learning 3 languages......

So my trilingual toddler and I seem to be having a bit of difficulty with our communication skills. I'm trying to make an effort to strictly speak Spanish to her but sometimes my Spanglish-Croatian gets the best of me. Today our dialogue went something like this:

Me: "Beli vamos a comer." (let's eat)

Beli: "no quieres!" ( she doesn't want to ....but what she means to say is I don't want to)

Me: "porque no?" ( why not)

Beli: "No quieres!" (She doesn't want to)

Me: "let's eat papa, y eggs y jugo!" (let's eat potatoes, eggs and juice)

Beli: " jaja mama" (not ja-ja in Spanish like haha it's funny!....but ya-ya meaning.. eggs)

After breakfast, we folded the laundry, read books and learned how to put our shoes on. She wanted to do everything Sama (alone). "Bela sama," she said. And while we are on the topic of being independent let me share my little nervous breakdown I had earlier today.

The same overwhelming feelings I felt when preparing for the Naplex Board Exam 5 years ago were back. I felt nervous, anxious, scared! I'm worried I won't pass my Level II Croatian language class. Most of what I have learned was lost on transit to America. It's important for me to do well because learning the language will be the bridge that connects me to my Husband's family, to his country. I don't want to be left behind in the conversations amongst my daughter and hubby or with the grandparents. And then I remembered a discussion my friend Nando and I had earlier in the week, "You are not Superwoman, so don't put that pressure on yourself,"he said in reference to my wanting to be 'perfect' in every aspect of my life. And he is right, I need to find balance in everything I do.

So I picked up my camera and focused on my daughter. I looked at her little hands and thought, " so tiny and yet so powerful." Then my fears faded away. "It's going to be ok," I told myself. How do you find balance in your life?

Hubby and Beli walking from the beach.

Marjan Hill located near the Diocletian Palace will be the meeting point for my friends and I tomorrow at 9am for our morning walk. Want to join us? Afterwards we will be drinking coffee and reviewing for our exam next week. Then later in the afternoon Hubby, Beli and I will be driving to Bribir (where his grandparents live) for an evening under the stars. Saturday we'll be visiting Skradin and Sibenik. Busy weekend! What are your plans?

And here are a few lovely blogs from around the world.

It's a Bilingual Carnival.

Get your cup of expresso and enjoy this view in Italy.

I dream of Spain.

Another Atlanta weekend.

Saying goodbye is part of being an Expat.

Something to think about, The Gore Effect.

A great story.

Traveling, writing, living in a boat in England

Which language do I speak?

Spanglish, Spantian, or Crolish?



I'm not an expert on linguistics and I hope I'm not doing more damage than good by introducing all 3 languages at once (Spanish, Croatian and English) but I have heard that babies are like sponges, they will absorb everything.

I did some research about multilingualism and I found a fascinating website, Spanglishbaby ,"the place to ask and get personal advice and honest answers to all those conflicting opinions out there about raising bilingual kids." Here I found a link to Simona Montanari , an expert on early multilingual development, and this is what she had to say about teaching your child more than one language " ...decades of research have shown that children’s brains have all the capacities necessary to cope with and fully master two or more languages if they are given the opportunity to hear and practice these languages on an everyday basis. The idea of confusion in bilingual children is really a myth, an old belief prevalent in monolingual countries that has almost become political."

So hey maybe I'm doing something right? With the exception of my Spanglish!

We are just combining all 3 languages in hopes that as she gets older she will know the difference. For now we are using words that are easier for her to pronounce, for example Elephant is too long, instead we say slon. Of course as she gets older I will speak to her only in Spanish, my Hubby in Croatian and she will have exposure to English in school.


Just to give you an idea of my daily conversations with Beli (22 months old), it goes something like this:


Me: Good Morning Beli.

Beli: Goo-Moneen Mama.

Me: Dile good morning a Daddy.....(tell Daddy good morning)

Beli:Goo-Moneen Daddy.

Me: Como durmio my muneca?....(how did my doll sleep?)

Beli: Mama dai ruka!...............(Mama give me your hand!)

Me: Dojee Beli wait for Mama.....(Come here Beli, wait for Mama)

Me:Dame los shoes.....................(Give me the shoes)

Beli: Dai shoes Mama.................(Give you the shoes Mama)

Me: Quieres pintar en el book?.........(Do you want to color on the book?)

Beli: Book? dai colors Mama! ...........(Book?, give colors Mama!)

Me: Mira!..mali pas..............................(Look, a small dog)

She really amazes me because when I ask her in Spanish to tell me the body parts she answers in Croatian! I think it's because Spanish is the minority language and Croatian the majority( at least for now that we are living here). I'm not too worried about teaching her English, although she does get the exposure from hearing Hubby and I speak. How about you, do you mix languages at home or use one of these methods OPOL, T &P or mL&H?