Why Would I Want to Learn Spanish?

[Linda Watson Lauer]

Reading George Puckett's blog re "How"s Your Spanish, led me to ask another question. Why would I even WANT to learn Spanish?

Now that is the question I really want to answer. Consider how we in Canada and the US feel when "foreigners" make no effort to adapt. Communication is what brings people together. Try to speak Spanish to a local and notice the friendliness in their eyes. Although my sentences may not be grammatically correct, my Mexican friends get an idea of what I am saying and are thrilled that I am willing to try. It shows my honest desire to be part of their culture. Speaking even a little Spanish creates an open door to the hearts of my new neighbors. Even they are proud of me.

Spanish is a beautiful language. I love listening to the young women as they have so much feeling in their spoken words. There are certain phrases and inflections that I long to copy for I recognize these as being characteristic of Spanish speaking people. Someday I will know how to use the word "mira" just as they do.

Of course I will make mistakes as I learn. I learned my Spanish on the street as I searched for a house. I spoke to every Mexican person I came across as I walked up and down the dusty roads. They welcomed me as I struggled with "Lo se una casa por renta o vende." It was my way of asking do you know of a house for rent or sale. The question led to meeting uncles, cousins, whole families as they all worked to help me find my little house. A single phone call would bring someone to pick us up and take us to look at a tiny casa in the Mexican area of Bucerias, or down the arroyo, or out near the jungle. No one spoke English, but they safely transported me to their home for sale, showed me around and deposited me back where I had come from. What amazing experiences I enjoyed while on that search. Even my poor Spanish was welcomed by these good people.

Today I use my Spanish a little as I teach the children English at the Bucerias Bilingual Community Centre. This year I also took a wonderful Spanish course there and it appears that its a good thing I did. To my chagrin, I learned two important new words... or more importantly, two "proper" words. I learned that calor and caliente did not mean the same things and that I had in fact been walking around telling people I was "hot" in a not very nice way. I wouldn't have wanted other people using that word about me and here I thought I was merely commenting on the weather. Apparently I wasn't! Only a certain "kind of woman" is that kind of hot!

And my second mistake... after two years I finally learned that crayons were colors and not "couleres" as I had been saying to my preschoolers. Fortnately none of them noticed that teacher was saying to use their a#@ho#@ instead of their crayons. Was my face red!

So yes, I'll make mistakes, but in the long run I will learn. I will have had the joy of challenging my brain and learning a new language; communicating with my neighbors and earning their respect; and finally, knowing that I am not a tourist who just stepped into Mexico for a short time. I'm a community member who will do whatever she can to be part of this wonderful Mexican culture.

[Linda Watson Lauer]

Thanks, Cindi, for the fun and interesting email. I enjoyed your warnings! I will continue to work on my Spanish. Living there for only six months of the year, I know it will take longer, but it is definitely worth it.
Gracias por escribe.

[C. Bower]

Kudos to you for learning Spanish! It makes me proud when I read about non-Spanish speakers learning Spanish (I feel the same way about anyone who makes the effort to learn a language...or several languages...besides their native tongue).

Learning a second language takes work, but is well worth the effort, as you have seen. You won't be perfect for some time (a German friend said it took him about eight years of living in Mexico before he felt fluent in Spanish). Keep working at it!

Don't be afraid to make mistakes. You may end up saying things that are rude or crude. I certainly have. Ask all the Mexicans you encounter on a regular basis to correct your mistakes. They will probably be reluctant at first, but keep asking. Eventually they will help you.

Here are just a few mistakes I've made over the course of six years of living in Mexico. I hope they will help you avoid making them yourself.

The verb "coger" is not used in Mexico when you want to say "to pick up." It has a rather crude significance here, though it is perfectly fine to use "coger" in other Spanish-speaking countries.

If you want to ask a shopkeeper for eggs or chorizo (a spicy sausage) or elbow macaroni, don't ask, "¿Tiene huevos?" or "¿Tiene chorizo?" or "¿Tiene codos?" Instead, use the word "Hay" as in "¿Hay huevos?" (Are there eggs?). Huevos is a vulgar word for testicles, chorizo is a vulgar word for penis, and codos literally means elbows.

Also, be wary of false cognates (like "embarazada"...it does not mean one is embarrassed; it means one is pregnant!).

¡Buena suerte!

Cindi