ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I would like to thank my best friend Lencho for helping me with my Spanish and making it fun at the same time. I’m also grateful to my many Spanish teachers who helped me fall in love with Spanish along the way. Some Spanish classes are dull, but I was very lucky most of the time. Last but definitely not least, I wish to thank the Spanish speakers I’ve met all over the world, particularly in Mexico, Costa Rica, and Spain (the only three Spanish-speaking countries I’ve been to so far). Your beautiful language is a perfect expression of your beautiful countries, and I appreciate your willingness to speak it with me—and your patience. ¡Muchísimas gracias!