My 2 cents about learning Spanish

[beenthere]

... in response to Beenthere lets here your theory, posted by Jamie on May 2, 2005

I don't need facts to be suspicious...

Jamie, you have way too much time on your hands...

[Jamie]

... in response to what part of my post didn't you understa..., posted by beenthere on May 3, 2005

[This message has been edited by Jamie]

Sorry I meant evasive.

"I don't need facts to be suspicious... "

Of course not and one does not need intelligence to talk, so you speak. There are quite a few members on this board that live in Colombia why do you coward from telling us your suspicions... the ones that will be void of facts.

"Jamie, you have way too much time on your hands..."

The reality is I have very little time on my hand, but I do have the luxury to choose how I use my time.

Engage the Exotic-Latin Women
http://International-Introductions.com

[beenthere]

... in response to The invasive part, posted by Jamie on May 3, 2005

then I'm very flattered you choose to spend your valuable time on me, especially my posting history..

[Jamie]

... in response to Re: The invasive part, posted by beenthere on May 3, 2005

"then I'm very flattered you choose to spend your valuable time on me, especially my posting history.. "

You are very welcome I am flattered you would be flattered by someone showing others your unflattering posting history.

Engage the Exotic - Latin Women
http://International-Introductions.com

[Jake]

... in response to Jamie goes back to school...., posted by Heat on May 1, 2005

Heat , I wished I could have said all that . very well put ........ and Jamie is telling me that he running a honest business ...

[Heat]

... in response to Re: Jamie goes back to school...., posted by Jake on May 1, 2005

He might be honest.   I would guess that he is.

I don't know him but would give him the benefit of the doubt.  He might even be a nice guy.

I have no knowledge of his business practices.
But people have said good things about him here.

And other agency owners have said nasty things.  But I would take what they say with a lot of salt.

Bottom line....He is just selling a product.  

But he can't bullshit everybody about not learning Spanish and not get called for it.

[utopiacowboy]

... in response to Jamie is wrong., posted by Heat on Apr 30, 2005

I want to know EXACTLY what is going on with my wife and if I can't speak Spanish how can I know that? I would hate to have her talking on the phone with family and friends and not have any idea what she's saying. Good way to become paranoid.

[Heat]

... in response to You got that right, posted by utopiacowboy on Apr 30, 2005

Very good point!!

[Avispa]

... in response to You got that right, posted by utopiacowboy on Apr 30, 2005

You have to be at least trying to learn some Spanish.
Go through the Pimsleur audio course. It really helps.

It's an ongoing process for me. I'm not naturally gifted at languages.

Every now and then I watch a few minutes of one of the telenovelas. It's really cool when I catch a sentence or phrase. Still, it's a struggle.

[utopiacowboy]

... in response to Re: You got that right, posted by Avispa on Apr 30, 2005

[This message has been edited by utopiacowboy]

Actually my wife and I communicate exclusively in Spanish since she speaks almost no English. I can understand almost everything my wife says to me and she says she speaks to me just the way she would speak to anyone whose native language was Spanish. I am not quite fluent but I can say anything I want to say and I can joke with her etc. In fact we usually have a lot of pillow talk and converse long and often. I can speak to her family on the phone without any problems. I can't imagine what life would be like if I could NOT speak Spanish.

[Michael B]

... in response to Re: Re: You got that right, posted by utopiacowboy on Apr 30, 2005

Ditto almost every sentence Utopiacowboy said, except where he said 'not quite fluent', I rate myself an 8 or 8.5 on a 1 to 10. Granted, it is not my mother language, but I've been doing it for over 30 years now. 30 years? And you only give yourself an 8.5? Yes, because I know enough to know that I do NOT know everything, unlike some people who claim to be 'fluent' but wind up eating fried mushrooms when they thought they had ordered shrimp. (No, that's not a dig at U.C. personally, nor any particular person here, just that we've all known somebody like that, right?)

To the guys who are 'making the trip' with little or no Spanish, my hat's off to you for your grit. Even though (my opnion, anyway) it's going to be a lot harder than the 'Hey, not a problem' crowd is leading you to believe, I don't think that that you are 'doomed to failure' either....at least not in the early stages. Now, after the early stages, Utopiacowboy has raised some excelet points...it shows respect for your wife's culture, which translates (no pun intented) into respect for her and her family, reasures her that she's not the only one doing 'ALL the adjusting' and a host of other good and necessary  things. God forbid, but what if she were sick or injured? How will you inform her family if you can't speak Spanish on the telephone? Or on a happier note, wish your mother-in-law a happy birthday?

So, the 'Is Spanish Necessary' question is still an enigma....some people take this road, some people take that road...hopefuly all will end up in the Emerald City.

My personal opinion (let me stress the word 'opinion') is: 1) Better to know Spanish before you go. 2 )If you don't know Spanish, better to go than stay home. 3) Just because you make a trip or two and get back alive doesn't mean that you're off the hook and shouldn't ever learn Spanish, especially if you bring a lady back with you.  4) One big downside to speaking Spanish (and I'll plead guilty to this charge myself) is it really does slow down your wife's learning English unless you are extreemly careful about 'forcing' her (gently, of course) to learn.

[Jamie]

... in response to Re: Re: You got that right, posted by utopiacowboy on Apr 30, 2005

Yes but you have also indicated your Spanish has delayed your wife’s progress in English.
We are all happy with your success and thankful for all the insight you give us.

Engage the Exotic - Latin Women
http://International-Introductions.com

[utopiacowboy]

... in response to Re: Re: Re: You got that right, posted by Jamie on Apr 30, 2005

What is going to get her to speak English is not me but the fact that her three kids are so proficient in English that they are even starting to speak it to each other. That plus the fact that once she has her green card in a few short weeks, she will be able to work. She knows a lot of English - she just isn't in a situation where she has to use it. Actually by now I kind of like speaking Spanish with her and I doubt that will change even once she can speak good English.

[MarkNJ]

... in response to Re: Re: Re: Re: You got that right, posted by utopiacowboy on May 1, 2005

Hey Cowboy!  I was a little confused at first with your post... in a previous post you wrote: "Actually my wife and I communicate exclusively in Spanish since she speaks almost no English". But in this message you said that she knows alot of English but just is not in a situation where she has to use it?  Do you mean that she is more comfortable with her Spanish and in turn she is helping you out enabling you to learn Spanish more quickly by using it?   As far as her children learning English, from what I have learned it seems that often when there are children involved it tends to make the learning process easier for the latin woman (mother) because not only does she have someone to practice and grow with in her learning (the children) I feel that they are even more inspired because being a loving mother she would want what is best for her children and having them learn more than one language will leave them obviously in a better position in the world.  The "experts" say that the normal process of the various stages of brain development for children in general has it more favorable/easiest to learn before the child reaches age 12.   Sure we can learn a new language at any age but it has a natural tendency to be easier during the younger years.

[utopiacowboy]

... in response to Re: Re:Re: You got that right, posted by MarkNJ on May 1, 2005

The strange thing about my wife is that she does know a LOT of English grammar (much more than I know Spanish grammar) and she has a pretty good vocabulary. Her problem is she does not speak - she does not practice - she doesn't use it. I speak Spanish all the time so much so that I can kind of switch in my head from thinking in English to thinking in Spanish depending on who I am with. At home with her on the weekeends and at night, I just switch to Spanish. She could speak more English than she does - with other people she is able to make herself understood but she doesn't have a lot of patience with herself. You do have to be patient and willing to make mistakes. I must admit that if we were to try to communicate in English at this point it would be a very slow and somewhat tedious type of communication. Having said that I do throw in English phrases and sometimes say things first in English and then in Spanish.