Learning Spanish the Hard Way

A long time back in high school, I found out that it was hard to focus on learning Spanish in my Spanish classes because English and cute boys were always surrounding me. All I did was pass notes to my friends in the back of my classes and used the maximum number of bathroom breaks allotted to me each semester.

The only phrase I’d ever remember from those classes was: Me gusta el bano in mis pantelones. [Warning: I probably didn't spell that right.] In English that roughly means: I like to go to the bathroom in my pants.

Give it some time, college graduation, a couple years to mature, and suddenly, it finally occurred to me on how important it is to be bilingual in this world.

Never thought I'd need it but on one random day, during an extreme life change, I moved to Mexico. It was a spontaneous decision and I knew just enough Spanish to get by. And it was here in Chiapas, Mexico, [the real part of Mexico and where I'm still living by the way] where I learned Spanish the hard way.

Here are some tips that will help you get by, that may keep you from making the same mistakes I did, if you ever decide to follow my lead. Ha, good luck everybody!

Top Spanish Tips From the Streets of Real Mexico

• Practice the basics off the bat. Know the general polite greetings in Spanish. Some important ones are: “Hi, how are you?” “It’s nice to meet you.” “Thank you very much.” "Please." "Excuse me." "What time is it?"
  
• Here's a big phrase that deserves it's own bullet: "I only speak a little Spanish." Say this especially when getting strange looks.
  
• Go prepared. Write up general questions that you’ll need to barely get by. Prepare for specific situations and for likely situations you’ll encounter.
  
• Buy those little Spanish guidebooks to carry with you at all times.
• Learn haggling phrases for shopping at the street markets and vendors. These people are professional hustlers that live off of pesos. Remember even the innocent-looking sales associates name off the most expensive price first.
  
• Don’t get passed off as an easy American or European or Australian, wherever you're from. Unless you're okay with spending the pesos!
  
• Learn haggling phrases anyway just so that these guys won’t think you’re a sucker. Phrases to know on the streets are: "How much?" "That’s too expensive." "This is all I have." "Can you lower it to--?" Stuff like that.
  
• I’d like to mention these people can be pretty intimidating. But on the other hand, you're a strange foreigner to them and that's leverage.
  
• Break time. Just breathe. Remember to do that before plunging into a Spanish immersed moment where you’re going to expose your relatively struggling Spanish speaking abilities in a fairly awkward way. Practice makes perfect!
• Do this again after you’re leaving a sweaty situation where you’ve just attracted an audience of Mexicans because of your own lack at succinctly communicating that you just wanted a hamburger. You’re not a born linguist.
  
• Plan a day-by-day new Spanish phrase itinerary. By this time you’ve probably built Spanish phrases in your head that you wished you would have known. Write down at 5-10 new Spanish phrases every day for practice.
  
• Listen to the responses. Seriously listen. You can learn new vocabulary by listening, comprehension and repeating it out loud.
• Always smile. Smiling is a universal language. This is importante. Mexicans tend to be very outgoing. Being polite is a universal language.
• Study the verbs, the conjugations and the specific building blocks of Spanish sentence construction. Memorize and practice this repeatedly.
  
• Don’t give up. Moving to a different country without knowing the language is tough. It's kind of isolating until you learn ways to reach out. The upsides are gaining the liberties of making jokes, reaching out and making friends.
• Try innovative and new approaches to learn Spanish on your own.
  
• Everything is Spanish down here. It's easy to immerse yourself. Listen to Spanish radio. Watch Spanish soap operas because even though they’re bad acting they're good at pronouncing their language. Listen to Spanish conversations happening around you, an inevitable situation in Mexico.
• Know how to swallow your pride. You can’t do everything on your own. Ask for directions if you’re lost. Learn from the locals if you can. Don't overdue it but it's okay to point to something and ask, "How do you say this in Spanish?"
  
• If you’re still having trouble learning Spanish after about a month of trying literally everything -then don’t be afraid to check out Spanish classes in your area. Spanish is a selling product in this place and there are a lot of schools to choose from. Courses are expensive but are possibly worth it.
  
• Having a lap top computer could possibly save your life here.