My espanol is good enough! (adecuado)

Living with teenagers, every once in awhile the question of when something is going to be relevant in "real life" comes up. As I am (almost) always honest with them I tell them that it's likely that much of what is learned won't really matter but that they need to learn it just the same. (hey, I did!) The BIG exception and what has probably served me best is what I learned in the Spanish classrooms. A big gracias to the senors, senoras and senoritas who taught me in grades 6-12! I cannot count the number of times my Spanish has come in handy and the smiles I have been graced with when the recipient of my botched attempts to communicate realizes that I am making an effort. Most recently I was able to let my gardeners know that the dog was in the backyard and to let me know when I needed to unlock the gate so that they could get to the yard. I wanted to protect my "perro" and luckily I was able convey just that. Bueno for me!!