Necesitamos hablar espanol....

We have been fortunate to find a Spanish school here in Vallarta that uses a method especially tailored for "mature" learners. Three hours a day, three days week for three weeks - and we just finished our second week. Let's see...I have learned to say "Do you want to play more tennis? (Quiere jugar mas tenis?)" That may not prove to be so useful, but I have also learned to say "I need to think about it a little more ("Necesito pensarlo un poco mas)" and "Can you understand me? (Puede entenderme?)" And especially, "We need to learn more Spanish, (Necesitamos aprender mas espanol)" And don't forget "necesito usar el bano."

The truth is, we are living in a country whose people speak a language that we do not understand - and simply conducting basic business from day to day is a real challenge. Things like opening a bank account, paying the cable bill, buying paint for our new house and getting our truck insured become projects that could be accomplished so much easier if we spoke the language.

Of course, there are some cautions involved here. If you start trying out your Spanish before you really know what you're doing, you could end up saying things like: "Es regalo de queso. (It is a gift of cheese.)" or "Alto! ¡Yo soy plomero! (Stop! I am a plumber!)" A waitress got quite a laugh when I explained that I would order for "mi esposa." (Esposa is "wife" and ESPOSO is "husband.") Oh well, the people we encounter have all been encouraging and patient with our attempts to speak their language, and we have to keep saying that we "hablamos espanol un poco." Hopefully, that will change soon.