Traveling To Guatemala for adoption..Should I learn Spanish?

You may want to visit the Guatemala board to hear from folks who've adopted from that country...But generally speaking: Yes, it will be helpful if you learn at least a few child-friendly phrases to help with your daughter's transition into your family. Ex: "Are you tired/sleepy?" "Are you sick?" "Where does it hurt?" (or "Point to where it hurts.") That sort of thing. You could easily make up flash cards for yourself with pictures. I did this with food phrases, like: "Do you like bananas?" (and I have a picture of a banana next to the phrase to show our child) "Do you like chicken?", etc. You can find these simple translations on quite a few Spanish instruction Web sites, or type the phrase into the Web translator at [url]www.freetranslation.com.[/url] Good luck, and congrats on bringing your daughter home soon! Rebecca

I second Rebecca (thanks for the cheat sheets BTW) and think it's a good idea to get some Spanish under your belt regardless of how old the child is, or whether they're language or developmentally delayed. It can only help the transition. The child may not have a good grasp of any language, but you know they've at least heard Spanish. Plus you'll feel more empowered as a parent if you can do more than do hand gestures and signs to communicate at first. I cannot imagine what our son is going to think of his mommy. I have blonde hair, blue eyes, fair skin. The least I can do is try to have a few phrases of Spanish...maybe he won't think I really am a Martian! Ok, that's still debatable :) , but I have to laugh at how he might see me, especially if I'm jabbering in some unknown language on top of looking funny. I am using a website to learn some Spanish. I may never master speaking it, but I want to at least understand it better. it's wwwlearnspanishdotcom. It's free and quite comprehensive. Robin

Yes, What a great idea to memorize some child friendly phrases!what could be scarier than leaving everything you know to go with strangers who can't speak your language? do these web sites help with pronunciation? if not look for someone who speaks Spanish and ask them to talk to you ten minutes a day on the phone. A small child might not make the connection between your gringo spanish and hers but you can learn to recognize her phrases. Remember kids dont talk like a guide book (Please direct me to the nearest restroom Vs. quiero hacer pi pi) Congratulations and Good luck with your adoption! I thought Guatemala was mostly infants and would love to hear more about your adoption if you want to PM me at AOL ?

Yes, this site I use has oral exercises and lets you hear two different Spanish speakers (Latin Spanish and Spain-Spanish) and also a gringo murdering the pronunciation (which is pretty funny I might add). Robin