talking

I worked my way through Lesson 27 of Pimsleur Spanish II today. I've practiced chatting with the phantom Spanish speakers in my CD player quite a bit by this point!

But there's a difference between talking to the Pimsleur phantoms and talking to real people.

To me, it's a somewhat scary difference. When I first started learning, I was basically terrified of making a fool of myself, but choked it down and exchanged greetings, asked questions, etc.

Fortunately, I've encountered a friendly lot of native Spanish speakers! Friendly and patient.

Also fortunate is that I love tequila and some of the various edibles available at local Latin American restaurants (although, a decir verdad, a good many eateries are staffed by native Spanish speakers).

I learned early on that to obtain something with a lot of hot pepper, you ask for something muy picante. Muy caliente means "hot" but as in temperature. The fajita skillet is caliente, and the habanero pepper is picante.

When sticking those first few toes in the water, I hit the Hablo un poco dead end quickly and often. But I kept at it.

At one point, I noticed a small tattoo on the hand of a waiter and asked ¿Qué tiene aqui? (or something to that effect, but it was a while back and I'm fuzzy on the details)

Es mi nombre, he replied. A pleasant conversation about our respective tattoos followed, in which I learned that what initially sounded like the "bur-jinn" was "Virgin" and referred to the Virgin Mary. I've had numerous pleasant exchanges with him since that occasion, and he has continued to teach me new words.

This evening I was able to share with another similar acquaintance that Mi mamá fue a Texas hace un mes. Ha regresado hoy. (...testing recent Pimsleur material as usual.) These guys know my mom, and hadn't seen her in a month, so I wasn't just walking through a mall announcing that my mother's been in TX. heh

The basic idea is to keep trying out those modest Spanish skills with people willing to lend you a few seconds here and there. I'm not ashamed to occasionally whip out a pocket Spanish-English dictionary or phrase book, or even google something on the Treo, if need be.

On that particular note, Google Translate is way useful if you're equipped to browse the web on your preferred mobile device. (But having taken the time to learn at least some basic Spanish spelling & punctuation will save you heartache & wasted time!)

It may well be possible to work through a program like Pimsleur Spanish I-III in a few months and deposit yourself in Montevideo for a little sink-or-swim. But if you can find some native Spanish speakers with whom to share a few friendly moments, I think you'll probably enjoy that swim even more.