Michelle Bacon

Hello! My name is Michelle Bacon, and I am a non-native enthusiast of Spanish, German, ASL, and generally all things language. I’ve spent time living in Costa Rica, Spain, and Puerto Rico, but for the last few years, I’ve had to make do with immersion in-home. I was born in LA but went to college in upstate NY, then moved to DC for work and have stayed ever since. My “fun” fact is I have numerous hobbies and passions but for my life I cannot cook. No matter what I try. Also, I have 3 rescue pets that you won’t get me to shut up about. I’m most looking forward to the “ah-ha” moments, the breakthroughs, and getting to know my students!

I can’t possibly pick just one word that I love most in Spanish, but the one I usually pick in these situations is《bastante》because, well, most of us are taught it incorrectly.  In school, we might be told it just means “enough,” which is a little bit of the truth, but it is often used to mean more than enough, plenty (adj.), or quite (adv.). Where the English word “enough” frequently has undertones of being somewhat less than desirable (because, we’d always like more, right?),《bastante》actually has the opposite tonality – a kind of happy, plentiful amount. If someone tells you,《Hiciste bastante bien》then be proud, because you did quite, or even very, well! It follows that if someone tells you《¡Basta!》 … well, stop whatever you’re doing immediately, because you’ve already done more than enough of it.