Forum Discussion
profdant139 wrote:
Suspenders?? Even worse is socks. I tried and tried to tell them what I wanted, and finally I just showed them, pointing to my feet. The salesman nodded and said, "Eso si que es!" I said, "Exactly - S-O-C-K-S!"
;)
I think navegator was talking about something else. ;)
LS- Newbies often encounter me deep in conversation with family or friends.
They ask me "Do you speak Engligh?"
I answer
"Si"
The folks that don't get it are the ones most likely to not enjoy Mexico to the fullest. The remainder who. Urst out laughing are going to have a great time. It's a really unique way to assess newbies. - Wanderer is right: smile! Have fun. I was trying to find fish hooks in Lo de Marcus. The 4 people in the little store were all joining in. Finally I stuck my finger in my mouth like a fish hook is a fishes mouth. Everyone roared with laughter and pulled out the hook assortment. We all laughed and had a great time for about 30 minutes. BTW, they were laughing WITH me, not AT me.
- Dan, I teach a one day prep course in Texas high schools but it's a few times a year. Other than that, everything is the same :)
- Newbies tend to not smile. Soy anciano incapacidad. I am an old disabled person. I limp, shuffle, wobble and generally do not walk with a spring in my step.
But I carry a smile. People see this and their face lights up. If you carry on in the city en al norte con um sonrisa people will think you're nuts. In Mexico, wearing a smile is magic. And newbies are too self conscious to be aware of it. When I smile others smile back. It's a good feeling a vital feeling. - Chris, I did not realize that you were back teaching in Texas??
Back to the topic, sort of -- when I was traveling in Mexico, I found that the folks were very forgiving of my mispronunciations and grammatical errors. They were so grateful that I was even trying to speak Spanish.
The only exception was this: the summer after high school (1970!!), I was part of an exchange program and spent three months living with a farm family way out in the mountains of the West Coast of Mexico. These people were just wonderful -- this experience had a huge influence on my life.
Unbeknownst to me, however, my "family" spoke with a heavy Indian (Nahuatl) accent, kind of a sing-song pattern, with lots of idiosyncratic errors in pronunciation and grammar. Not knowing any better, I absorbed their speech pattern, as teenagers will.
So at the end of the summer, I went to Mexico City to meet up with a Mexican friend of one of my USA friends. This person (a young lady) was highly cultured and sophisticated, very well educated. I showed up at her lovely home and started to make conversation in Spanish with her and her family. After a few minutes, the room fell silent, and they all burst out laughing hysterically. I was mystified.
She explained (in perfect English), "You can't imagine how funny it sounds to hear an Indian dialect coming out of your gringo mouth. It's as if a Chinese person had come to the US for the summer and had lived with a poor family from the Deep South."
To this day, I still retain traces of that same accent, although I can overcome it if I try. profdant139 wrote:
Suspenders?? Even worse is socks. I tried and tried to tell them what I wanted, and finally I just showed them, pointing to my feet. The salesman nodded and said, "Eso si que es!" I said, "Exactly - S-O-C-K-S!"
;)
Dan, I use that a lot with my students in courses in Texas high schools. When the anglo kids get tired of hearing me speak in Spanish I tell them I can teach them to speak in Spanish in less than one minute. I have them spell socks. The Spanish speakers go nuts! It's hilarious. :)- Suspenders?? Even worse is socks. I tried and tried to tell them what I wanted, and finally I just showed them, pointing to my feet. The salesman nodded and said, "Eso si que es!" I said, "Exactly - S-O-C-K-S!"
;) - I take a pencil and paper with me for technical stuff. Just try and get a pair of suspenders in a department store...I dare you. and oh yes make sure you ask in your best spanish and direct your question to a female staffer.
- Or the ones that start talking as if they are speaking to a one year old or smaller using the O and A endings, they are really funny to listen to, they
make no sense at all.
All children in urban Mexican schools are taught basic English, not so out in the rural areas or where Spanish has to be taught as a second language after their native language.
To all of you that are not fluent in Spanish, speak in English and try to pronounce each word clearly and slow down a little, believe me you will be understood.
navegator
