I was raised in Central America by US parents. At 4, I knew more Spanish than English. We moved back to the US when I was 14. Since then, I've lost quite a b

I was raised in Central America by US parents. At 4, I knew more Spanish than English. We moved back to the US when I was 14. Since then, I've lost quite a bit of my Spanish, but I'm still fluent. When I was younger, I would think in Spanish and occasionally dream in Spanish. I don't do that any more. I've been in the US for so long that the transition to thinking in Spanish requires effort. But, yes, there are concepts and shades of meaning in one language that are hard to communicate in the other. I think that being monocultural is much more constraining than being monolingual, however. When you grow up between separate cultures, you're not only acutely aware of multiple ways of talking. You're also acutely aware that there are multiple ways of living, of relating to people and family, much different sets of priorities, completely different ways of problem solving and of being. It's hard to appreciate unless you've made a big cultural transition like emigrating or growing up multicultural. If you want to get past it, move to another country for a couple of years.