"I love you."

There are two ways to say "I love you" in Spanish, and I never quite understood why. I remember once asking one of the Hondurans in my Spanish classes when you would use one or the other, and all she told me was this: "Te quiero is like 'aw, te quiero...,'" and she said it in a sappy, drippy voice, "but te amo is like 'te amo.'" And she said that one very seriously. So I sort of understood, but not really. Annemarie explained to me the difference between "Te amo" and "Te quiero." Te amo is like what I would personally think of when you say "I love you." It's reserved for only one person. It's Love with a capital L. Te quiero is literally "I want you," but it also means I love you. From what I understand, it's what you say to your friends when you're like "Okay, love you bye!" That would be te quiero. It's still "I love you," but less amorous.

Annemarie said the first time Damian said any form of "I love you" he said it in English. Ezequiel was telling me that he preferred to speak to me in English, because, as he said, "I could say 'You are very beautiful,' and still mean it, but for some reason it is easier to say." I think I understand why. It's as if it means less because it's not your native language. You're just trying it on to see how the words feel in your mouth.