I still have trouble remembering the "Argentinian" word for avocados, cakes, and strawberries ("fresas" in "Mexican" Spanish, and I think universal, "frutillas" in "Argentine" Spanish).
Before ending this off, I want to finish with a little anecdote about the woman who never once spoke to me in English. "Tita" (slang for "Abuelita" which is grandma in English) is my maternal grandmother. She immigrated to Los Angeles when she was young, and having only spoken Spanish, she learned English, and from what my mom tells me, she could speak perfect English. Despite this, Tita only spoke to everyone in Spanish, as she preferred Spanish over English. This made it super difficult to speak to her growing up, but I realize now that by her refusing to speak English, she left me with the life-long gift of Spanish. Little things such as "frijoles" (beans), "carritos" (little cars), "Vetate aya!" (informal "Go over there") and "Mi chiquitita chulita!" (My pretty little girl), are words/phrases that may not be universally known, but they are the Spanish words of my childhood. Tita got Alzheimer's when I was six years old, and due to that, she started to lose her English knowledge and got to a point where she could barely understand my brother and me in English, but with our broken Spanish, we still made sure she knew we loved her, and she did her best to make sure we knew she loved us.
Spanish dialects are very personal, as they become ingrained in one's identity and culture. For me, I identify with my Mexican-American Spanish.
