Language barriers

[Jeff S]

... in response to Language barriers, posted by grant5432 on May 21, 2003

Assume no owill speak any English, except perhaps the people at an airline ticket counter or nice hotel. You should do that anywhere in Latin America (or anywhere else for that matter except perhaps the non-French part of Western Europe.) If not, you shut yourself out of the vast majority of the interest, people, culture, experience.

My suggestion - get busy learning. Here's an interesting observation. People in the US are often slightly irritated when talking to a person with limited English skills. I notice this when watching my wife talk to a waitress or clerk. On the other hand, while anywhere else in the world, your attempt, no matter how poor, in speaking the local language is met with smiles, compliments and encouragement. We Americans can be an arrogant lot.

BTW, fluency in each other's languages isn't a huge barrier. I spoke more of my wife's language when we met than she spoke of mine, but both very limited We took our time to really understand each other's hearts, and it has worked out very well so far. We were married three or four years before understanding each other's conversations completely - come to think of it, we still don't always, but hey, most native English speakers married to each other, don't understand each other very well, either.

Good luck to you.

- Jeff

[beenthere]

... in response to Re: Language barriers, posted by Jeff S on May 21, 2003

Great post Jeff........I think most gringos are intimidated by learning Spanish, but if they only knew how many doors it opens down there, not to mention the fun it is just to communicate, joke, etc. with latinas in their native tongue.
Learning is not that hard.......
BTW Jeff, out of curiosity, what brings you to the latin site??  I noticed you have a great marriage to a lady from Japan.  Hope I'm not prying.

[Jeff S]

... in response to Re: Re: Language barriers, posted by beenthere on May 21, 2003

Not prying at all. Though I'm happily married to a wonderful Asian lady, I spend a lot of time in Latin America on business - visiting customers & suppliers, plus working with manufacturing arms of US companies. I've traveled there as a businessman, as a tourist, and spent some time living as a local, in the homes of friend's families. Currently I work for a company in Southern California where I'm the only non-Latino and one of only three men - the rest are Latinas ranging in age from 18 to about 40, mostly from Mexico but a few from Central and South America. I speak Spanish, and have several good friends married to Latinas - one to a beautiful Salvaroran lady, 10 years his junior and one to a Mexicana nearly thrity years his junior. I was best man at his wedding and she's now pregnant with his second child with her. He has two daughters from his first marriage older than her - LOL. He claims he's the happiest he's ever been in his life.

I believe what most of us on all three of these boards believe, that the pickins are much better overseas than here at home. Foreign women from anywhere other than Western Europe, Canada and the USA, seem to have a more traditional view of marriage. They seem believe that men and women are different - equal but opposite. I beleive this also, that marriage is a team effort, each contributing what they do best. American women seem to think marriage is a 50/50 business partnership - each partner splitting every duty 50/50 - that men and women are interchangable. I do not. Imagine a football team where the place kicker, middle linebacker, and split end are all interchanged and the plays are called by a consensus - it's chaos. Likewise with many modern American marriages. I listen to my friends moan and complain about how their marriages shake my head - if they only knew....

Anyway, I believe the experiences in bringing a woman in from anywhere are all very similar - whether from Siberia, Cali, Bangcock, or anywhere else - so I contribute where I can to all three boards. I try to only post what I consider to be helpful information acquired through personal experiences. If it helps, great, if not - oh well, I tried.

- Jeff

[beenthere]

... in response to Re: Re: Re: Language barriers, posted by Jeff S on May 21, 2003

Jeff,  thanks for the post, and believe me, your help is welcome here.  Great to see who've had such a successful marriage, and that gives hope to us all.

[JR n Atl]

... in response to Language barriers, posted by grant5432 on May 21, 2003

Grant,

Learn as much as you can before you go. It's not that difficult. I started learning in December and was in Bogota approximately 8 weeks later in March and was able to converse well enough. It will be well worth the effort, trust me. They really appreciate it, even if you don't get quite right! And you won't ;-)

Why Peru?

JR

[DallasSteve2]

... in response to Language barriers, posted by grant5432 on May 21, 2003

Grant

I've been to Colombia 4 times but never Peru.  It was rare to meet a woman who could speak any English other than the ones who worked in the agencies.  There are a few, but they were never the ones I picked.  But then I speak Spanish so it wasn't a priority to me.  

Peru is likely to have a little less English-speaking women than Colombia because Colombia has more interaction with the US and because it is a more developed, economically speaking.  Colombia also has a lot more agencies than Peru.

Steve

[grant5432]

... in response to Peru and English, posted by DallasSteve2 on May 21, 2003

Thanks for all the comments.  I'm not sure how much spanish I can learn
in a few weeks if I go on the Latin Magic Peru tour.  As some of you
guessed, I am wary of the political climate in Columbia and have heard
from a friend that is here who lives in Columbia that it's a place I should
avoid.  It sounds like many of you here have had safe trips there,
however.

[Ken2]

... in response to Re: Peru and English, posted by grant5432 on May 21, 2003

Im not sure that Latin MAgic is a good choice for tours.  My ex-wife, whom I annulled, is still on her sight even though I warned him she is a scammer. She cannot marry an American - ever - as she is here illegally and has been found as a fraud by a US Court.  Selling her address to americans is wrong.

[Golden]

... in response to Re: Peru and English, posted by grant5432 on May 21, 2003

You should be fine in Peru. Its all in how you carry yourself and where you go. I walked all over Mira Flores when I stayed in that area, so I know its safe. When I went to other areas, I had Pilar with me and she knew where it was ok to go. (the women live there, so they know where its safe and where its not, so let them help when picking some place to go) I asked her about the taxis one time, because I knew she had to be careful too, when taking a taxi at night. She told me her secret. When the taxi comes up she picks the one where the driver is older(50 +) who looks simple and easy going, and who she thinks she could beat up or out run. ha ha . She told me she uses her six sense sometimes and if it donest feel right, she will ask for a fare so low she knows they wont accept, so they will move on .... Im not use to it really, like she is. She has a more keen sense of that kind of stuff than I do.(she grew up in the city and i didnt, plus she is from there) We went back to Peru just this past Christmas, and while there, we were walking down the street and there were about 6 or 7 guys (in their teens) on the other side of street about a 50 yards away or so, and she had us change direction and make a left. She told me she can tell by the way they were looking, how they were dressed, and how they were talking among themselves that it could be possible trouble. I wasnt even paying attention and was talking to her. She was alert though, while we were walking and talking. (she is a wise girl) I would do like the other guy said and leave your wallet and passport in the safe at the hotel and just make a copy of your passport to carry with you and some cash, no more than 50.00 dollars, unless you are going to the market to buy stuff. Its always good to play it little safe, when on new turf. You'll be ok, have a good trip. I hope you find a nice lady.

[grant5432]

... in response to Re: Re: Peru and English, posted by Golden on May 21, 2003

Wow!  Sounds pretty dangerous over there to me!  Especially if the
woman you are with is a real looker, and you come across locals there
who don't like the fact she's with you.   I am wondering if I really want to
take the risk of going to Peru and trying to get around there on my own!  
At least my friend says she has a cousin there that can hang out with me
sometimes, but probably not all the time.

[surfscum]

... in response to Re: Re: Peru and English, posted by Golden on May 21, 2003

My girlfriend does the same thing with taxis. I think she learned it from the School of Life.  She has been robbed 4 times in downtown Lima and hates to go there, even with me. Yes, Miraflores is relatively safe, but I know one street where you should NEVER walk: if you're in the park on the side facing Pizza Street and walk toward the coast (the traffic is one way going towards the coast), you'll see a very pleasant looking cobblestone street going down through a park.  I never see anyone walking there and have been told by many people to never walk there as it is a haunt for muggers. The last thing I want to do is make Grant or anyone overly worried about security in Lima; I have spent over 3 months there and never had a problem myself. The great thing about Peruvians is they like to talk: I think I could walk up to almost anyone and strike up a conversation with them and that is very helpful for security, because you can ask around about this or that place and how to get there and the locals can tell you the latest news.

I think I better stop before I dig myself in any deeper! ;-))

[Red Clay]

... in response to Must be taught in school, posted by surfscum on May 22, 2003

Heck, I must have missed Pizza St. Maybe my brothers-in-law could take me and serve as my bodyguards.

[DallasSteve2]

... in response to Re: Peru and English, posted by grant5432 on May 21, 2003

Grant

We haven't lost anyone yet.  But Colombia does have a set of perils different than travelling in the US or many other countries.  Colombia is the kidnapping capital of the Western Hemisphere (maybe the world).  

You don't want to flaunt your money there.  And you don't want to travel outside the large cities, except by air.  Many people do travel by road.  A few don't return.  The rebels control most of the countryside and they like to kidnap anyone with money.

Colombia also has about 75% of the Latinas in foreign bride marriage agencies.  And so most of us here keep returning.  It's a slam dunk to find a beautiful wife in Colombia.  Keeping her once you return is not as easy.

Some men here also travel to Brazil.  Some to Mexico.  Some to Peru and other countries.  They don't have as many beautiful women in agencies as Colombia, but they might be a better long term plan for you.  Only you can decide.

Steve

[grant5432]

... in response to Colombia, posted by DallasSteve2 on May 21, 2003

Thanks Steve.
  I'm really not sure what to do now:  Columbia has kidnappers.  Though
it's probably okay to go, with my bad luck I will get kidnapped somehow!  
Peru has muggers and you get robbed in the streets.   I wouldn't mind
going to Spain, Brazil, Mexico, or Chile, but I don't seem to find hardly
any women from there on Cherry Blossoms, or any of the other latin
dating services online.

[surfscum]

... in response to Re: Colombia, posted by grant5432 on May 23, 2003

Grant, have you ever been to a big city? Have you ever travelled abroad? If you answered yes to either of those questions, you will be fine in Peru. Really. If you don't have such experience, then a group tour is best for you until you get your "travel legs." Being aware of your surroundings does NOT mean being paranoid. An ounce of prevention....

As far as meeting women in those other countries, particularly Spain and Chile, a knowledge of spanish would allow you to enter personal ads in newspapers in Madrid and Santiago. SOTB has Mexican women and there are other sites under Yahoo.

Please send me an email if you want more info, I'd be glad to help.  FYI, Lonely Planet has a good guide for Peru that I have been using. It has a wealth of information and may help you in your plans.