Trip Report: Not knowing Spanish can cost you

[fathertime]

I should have listened more to Heat and others about learning Spanish better.  I will not be traveling to Colombia again until I am fluent in Spanish.  I am getting a tutor tomorrow in fact.  
On my dates I could not string two sentences together and it forced me to use the interpreter more than I wanted to.  Overall I went on many dates with many outstanding girls.  The one I have fallen for speaks zero English so now I have an incredible desire to learn Spanish quickly before I lose her before I get a chance to have her in the first place!  
I don’t feeling like boring everyone with all the little things we did but let me say this much.   I met a woman that I am willing to make a damn fool out of myself for and now the ball is in my court to learn Spanish before I head back to Cali under 3 months.  I am going to work my a$$ off to do this.  
For any of you new guys take this advice.  LEARN SPANISH!  On this trip it cost me big because I had a chance to talk with my potential future wife and all I could do is look like a mute puppet trying to communicate with hand signals and other gimmicks.  I am pissed at myself but thankfully I now have motivation to learn the language the way I should have in the first place.
Fathertime

[A1A]

... in response to Trip Report: Not knowing Spanish can cos..., posted by fathertime on Oct 4, 2005

Congratulations! We now have another caleña addict!  You have the desire that OKIE was clueless about.  Hit your local community college or follow the advice below.  The advice of jumping on the plane without any knowledge of spanish is pure BS, you have to be able to communicate!

[Gator]

... in response to Trip Report: Not knowing Spanish can cos..., posted by fathertime on Oct 4, 2005

time before you are "fluent."  As a long timer in Colombia I am damn sure able to hold my own but wait until those idioms start flying around.  Don't let the "fluency" part hold you back.  Become CONVERSATIONAL!!!.  The way I did it was to build on my Miami survival Spanish and when I moved to Colombia I went into total submersion-not by choice but by necessity.

Watch out for the language primers.  Learn the crap they teach and any self-respecting Latino would be in his/her rights to slap you silly.  Good God!  What help is "Orlando is wearing new pants,"or "Maria will be home watching television Thursday," do you.   Don't bother with phrases, "I don't speak Spanish well."  Any Colombian will know that as soon as you open your mouth.  Conjugating verbs?  Don't be afraid to grab a verb and let fly.  Same with nouns and adjectives that indicate gender.  Who ever you speak to KNOWS whether they are a man or a woman and can  figure out, quickly I suspect,  what gender you are.  As you just try to get along (an this was MY big problem for a while) remember, that there is a very real probability if you ask a question in Spanish you will be answered in Spanish-be prepared. I would start out with phrases you can you can use dealing with the police or customs.

"Sí, yo tengo un recibo"
 Yes, I have a receipt.

"Yo tengo una prescripcíon.  ¡Sincero!"
 I have a prescription for that.  Really!

"El cárcel es magnífico.  Mucho mejor que mí hotel."
 Nice jail you got.  Better than my hotel room.

Seriously, the best way, IMHO, is to USE the language.  99.9% of the people will not laugh and will appreciate you efforts.  That are lots of Spanish language TV you can watch that are also helpful.  But you MUST be beyond the "Una mas cervaza" stage to get along.  Remember, the more you use it the more you will learn it.

Good luck.

[utopiacowboy]

... in response to It Will Be A Longgggggggggg..., posted by Gator on Oct 4, 2005

You are absolutely right. The 00.1% that do laugh will be chicas who are giggling because you are so "cute" when you talk.

[pablo]

... in response to The voice of wisdom, posted by utopiacowboy on Oct 4, 2005


Si, es verdad! ;-)

[Heat]

... in response to Trip Report: Not knowing Spanish can cos..., posted by fathertime on Oct 4, 2005

I should have listened more to Heat[[[[

Well try listening to me this time.   Slowdown!  This girls who you think might be your future wife is a women you DO NOT KNOW.   Learn the language more and make this a two year project.  There is about one hundred percent chance that this girl will NOT be the women you end up with.

Have fun!  Relax!

[fathertime]

... in response to Re: Trip Report: Not knowing Spanish can..., posted by Heat on Oct 4, 2005

[This message has been edited by fathertime]

.... yeah I was kinda joking about the future wife thing... but she is so darn cute!! Lets not say 100% chance she is gone... after all I am using her as motivation to learn the language right now!! How about 75%:.)
Fathertime

[thundernco]

... in response to Trip Report: Not knowing Spanish can cos..., posted by fathertime on Oct 4, 2005

Yep, makes sense.  Try Pimsleur, should help you out quite a bit.  Quick question, in your profile you refer to yourself as an old man, but your profile states that you're only 37 yo, what gives?  -TNC

[fathertime]

... in response to Re: Trip Report: Not knowing Spanish can..., posted by thundernco on Oct 4, 2005

Thank you, I am looking into Pimsleur as well as a tutor.  I feel that a tutor is a good start because I found that my problem was mostly that I could not understand what the hell was being said to me. Everything sounds so fast it was like one long word.  I was constantly say either "despacio" or "no entiendo". I want to hear spanish in conversation as well as learn the book stuff.  Does this seem feasible or am I missing something?

I said I am an "Old Boy" not an "Old Man"! Just a silly way I sometimes like to think of myself! Those that know me can relate.
Fathertime

[thundernco]

... in response to Re: Re: Trip Report: Not knowing Spanish..., posted by fathertime on Oct 4, 2005

Ah gotcha.  You're a few years younger than me, and I by no means consider myself old by any strectch... well ok maybe after playing with my kids all day and having them pound me into submission, lol.  Anyway, the combination of a structured ocurse and a tutor sounds like an excellent idea.  Also, as another memeber mentioned, get yourself down to your local hispanic congregation points and just start practicing.  Good luck, try not to rush into anything or anyone, and enjoy the ride. -TNC

[Bueller]

... in response to Re: Re: Trip Report: Not knowing Spanish..., posted by fathertime on Oct 4, 2005

Listen up, young man :-). You can start today, and in three months you can get through all three levels of Pimsleur Spanish, one lesson a day, while driving to work. Go to any major bookstore and you will find the "introductory" four-tape program, which is the first eight lessons of Level 1. That will give you a week to locate the entire Level 1 at pimsleur.com., amazon.com. ebay.com, or at your local library (assuming it's not on the shelf at Borders or wherever). Then you've got time to locate levels 2 and 3. Go for it!

 a 38 y.o. fart :-P

[pablo]

... in response to Pimsleur, posted by Bueller on Oct 4, 2005

[This message has been edited by pablo]

A little bird told me that the bear has them free for all those lawless tacaños.  Try www.bearshare.com

Un cataño soltero sabroso.

PD.  Once downloaded the lessons are easy to upload on an iPod or other MP3 player.

[fathertime]

... in response to Re: Pimsleur, posted by pablo on Oct 4, 2005

that same little oso spoke to me...

[fathertime]

... in response to Pimsleur, posted by Bueller on Oct 4, 2005

Howdy you old relic,
Great idea about the Library.  I am going to head there this morning.  Still trying to coordinate with the local spanish tutors.
As far as learning while commuting.  The only commute I have in the morning is to the el excusado but sometimes I am parked for a while so maybe that will work!! I am going to go for it and thanks for the words of encouragement.  Motivation and confidence is the key.
Fathertime

[soltero]

... in response to Trip Report: Not knowing Spanish can cos..., posted by fathertime on Oct 4, 2005

[This message has been edited by soltero]

The quickest way is to forget your pride and get to know some spanish speakers. Get books to pick up the basics such as structure and grammar, but try to put it into practice as much as possible. If you have a spanish speaking area in your city, spend your free time in the spanish speaking malls or flea markets and try to converse with the salespeople in spanish. Most will help you and others will crack on you, but keep on going as actually speaking the language is the fastest way to learn plus most gringos that learn from book suck at pronunciation and the books won't help you with the local words or dialects. Examples for Cali: Parsero (par-SER-o)(Homeboy), Cheverre (Chev-rray-roll the r) (First Rate, Classy, Excellent), Bacano (Va-KA-no)(Great, or same as cheverre but not as snooty). (and not sure on the spelling) The online translators suck at making whole sentences, but they are pretty good for individual words. Good luck...