I don’t remember my very earliest days of living in Madrid with my U.S. Diplomatic Corps family — I was only 3 months old when we moved there. Spanish quickly became my second language, thanks to my encouraging parents and my dear nanny, Felisa, who came to Madrid from Galicia to watch over and care for me for many years.

Growing up for three years speaking two languages was not a problem, because I knew nothing else; it was the way life was for me and my young friends in the Diplomatic Service. I spoke English with my parents and Spanish with Felisa and everyone else. My parents later related how, at age 9, I was speaking English with them, while looking at a picture of family friends from the States.