If educators were really understanding of that, they'd say, "You know what? Forget about bilingual, we're going to do multilingual education." So children are ready for the new millennium. We're way behind compared to countries in Europe. If we were multilingual, imagine how much you would learn about your own culture, about the sensibilities of what's important in your own culture.

That's what you need for your writing - to learn how to be present, learn how to be calm. So take that nap, do that meditation.

It's so good for your health to take those naps. I don't know why people brag that they sleep five hours. I'd be ashamed. I'm proud that I sleep nine hours.

You have to remember that writing itself is so solitary. You start writing because you're lonely.

I would drive on streets that were one-way and think, "Why are they all honking at me?"

My Spanish is a daughter's Spanish. I write, but my Spanish really is very limited.

You can never have too much sky . You can fall asleep and wake up drunk on sky, and sky can keep you safe when you are sad. Here there is too much sadness and not enough sky. Butterflies too are few and so are flowers and most things that are beautiful. Still, we take what we can get and make the best of it.