minyazawhat?

I really don't want to be one of those parents who pigeonholes his or her child early on and then is immensely disappointed when little Johnny decides to be a bartender instead of an astronaut.

Still, you notice things about your kids. You notice that they take to some things more than others. And I think Marta enjoys learning new languages. She speaks two languages natively -- English and Estonian. We have been to Spain twice (and there are plenty of Spanish speakers in New York) so Marta has learned Spanish as a second foreign language.

She has actually requested Spanish computer games so she can learn. She also sometimes has requested to watch Mary Poppins in Spanish (and also in French a few times too). I've taught her some Italian. The only word she usually remembers is "bambola" (doll).

Now, in school, she is learning Russian. This presents a challenge to me, because I don't know Russian. She's running around yelling, "Minya zavut Marta," and asking me questions that start with "Kak" that I don't know how to answer. But that doesn't hurt her exuberance. I was worried Marta was only interested in playing with her friends and being a comedienne, but it seems there is some student in her. She is finally happy to be learning something. I am happy too.