Learning

As you can probably guess by now, Mexico has been treating us pretty well. We were pretty sure that we were going to love cruising through the country before we got here, with an endless sea of tacos at our disposal, new towns to explore, and warm tropical water to swim in, but today I want to talk about something that has come as a bit of a surprise to me. And no, the surprise is not how many tacos I can shove into my gullet before passing out from a food coma (that answer is 6 in case you are wondering...5 if I'm saving room for ice cream). What has been surprising to me is how much I've enjoyed attempting to learn and speak Spanish during our time in the country.

Before we crossed the boarder into Mexico, my main concern with speaking Spanish was being able to communicate with Mexican officials. We had to check into the country (a major pain in the tush), and in each official port, we have to check in and out with a Port Captain (another major pain in the tush). Since we are always on the move, that's a lot of Mexican officials and even more than a lot of stamped paperwork (they love their stamps here). I was seriously concerned that I would say the wrong word or series of words, the boat would be confiscated, and I would be thrown in a Mexican prison and left to rot for years as Brenda sailed off into the sunset with her new Latin lover. I don't know if you have noticed, but I'm way too cute to go to prison. Being able to communicate and keep myself out of prison, for me was a necessity (did I mention how cute I am???).

Some of the Port Captains we've talked with speak a few words of English. Enough to get by at least. But the vast majority of them that we've dealt with have spoken zero English. And why would they? We are in their country after all. It's really not their job to cater to us by speaking perfect English as we pass through their port. Their job is to stamp papers. Lots and lots of stamps on lots and lots of papers. And what do you know? They are pretty good at their job. Some are better than others, with a whirlwind wind-up as they slam that stamp down on my exit papers. But some, well, they seem a little lazy about the stamping process. They'll just give me a slight look out of the corner of their eye, a slow glance over my documents, and then a lackadaisical and meandering stamp of approval. I like it when they stamp with authority. One that slams down on the papers and screams, “Look at me!!! I'm stamping!!!” It just seems more satisfying to me when the stamp lands on the paper with a loud and forceful “WHACK!!!”

We purchased a book called “Spanish for Cruisers” before we left the States which has helped us out immensely while we deal with officials. The book is geared for sailors and gives simple phrases which makes getting our documents stamped all that much easier. But what it doesn't do, is teach us how to really communicate with another human being.

Being that my main concern was staying out of prison, I never really focused much on basic conversational Spanish. I wanted to know how to order tacos (they are delicious and cheap), how to ask where the bathroom is (it's Mexico after all, and sometimes the fire breathing salsa wants out NOW!!!), and I wanted to know how to ask for the check after all my tacos are consumed. But beyond those few basic things, I'm embarrassed to say, it never really dawned on me that I would want to sit face to face with a complete stranger and learn something about them or their country and culture.

It was a sad reality on day one of our time in Mexico when I couldn't converse with someone who had stopped us on the street only to ask us if we needed help finding our way. I have a feeling we always look lost because this happens quite a lot. It actually hit me kind of hard that I was in this person's country as a visitor, and I couldn't answer the simple question of “can I help you find something?” At that moment, learning and speaking Spanish became a priority. It's also become an unexpected highlight of my time in this beautiful country.

After 4 ½ months in Mexico, I'm happy to report that I am much better at Spanish then when we first arrived. I can carry on a basic conversation and I can even understand much more than I can say. But, it's been a lot of work. We both do our best to spend a little bit of time each day studying. And more than anything, I always try to speak Spanish when I'm talking to a native speaker. Even if I am butchering the language and embarrassing myself and everyone around me, I still try.

I will usually start with something like “I'm sorry but I don't speak much Spanish, but I want to learn and practice.” That simple phase not only keeps me from offending someone, getting punched in the nose, and has so far kept me out of prison, but it also lets the person on the other side know that I'm doing my best. That seems to go a long way to break the ice and keep the rapid fire pace of most Spanish speakers down to a rate that I can somewhat understand.

It's fairly easy for me to memorize words, but stringing together a sentence out of those memorized words can be a challenge. These days, a lot of my studying comes in the form of imagining a phrase that I may happen to use during the course of a day and learning how to say it. For example, on our recent trip inland to the amazing city of Guadalajara, we went to a Chivas futbol game. Since I was pretty sure we were going to be the only Americans in the whole stadium (yup, only us) and I was pretty sure someone was going to ask us why we were going to the game (yup, it happened), I learned a few things to say just in case the opportunity arose. “We came all the way from the United States to see a Chivas Futbol game. It's been my dream to see a Chivas game in Guadalajara. The Chivas are the best!” And what do you know? I got those phrases out a few more times than I thought would be possible.

Brenda has been studying like a champ. She is really good at memorizing words and can understand quite a bit when someone is talking to her. But responding in a coherent sentence? It hasn't been happening...until yesterday. All of her hard work is starting to pay off. And the evidence? She ordered lunch in perfect Spanish while using a complete sentence. Nice job Brenda! It made my day to witness her small but major triumph.

I know more than a few of you reading this are setting sail for Mexico in the near future. If I can offer a few words of advice, it's learn some Spanish before you get here. The cruisers we have met who seem to be struggling here, more often than not, can't speak any Spanish. The cruisers who are thriving and thoroughly enjoying themselves tend to have a basic level of understanding and vocabulary. It makes everything from dealing with authorities, to getting groceries, or even ordering food, much more enjoyable. And you may just get lucky and get to have a meaningful conversation with a complete stranger. A human experience is part of what we are here for after all, isn't it?

Since I am having so much fun learning and attempting to speak Spanish, I've decided that I'm going to do my best to bring you along with me in my learning. I think that from now on, I'm going to have a “word of the day” if you will. Or more like a “word of the blog”. Whichever country we happen to be traveling in, I'm going to share a word and it's meaning from the country's national language. So, without further ado, here is our first ever “word of the blog”. And yes, the first word seems pretty fitting.

Aprender: to learn

We stopped by a crocodile sanctuary and I got to meet this little guy. I think he wanted to eat me.

We met these two guys while we were cruising around in our dinghy looking for crocodiles in an estuary. They were swimming and spearfishing in crocodile infested waters. The guy with the knife said "los cocodrilos son mis amigos." (the crocodiles are my friends). No thanks.