Should You Learn Spanish
Before Vacationing In Mexico
You have made the reservations for the hotel and bought tickets
for your flight. You are looking forward to enjoying some
leisure time for walking along a beach, dining at an authentic
Mexican restaurant, or just exploring the narrow streets of
a small Mexican village. But if you have never traveled outside
of the United States, you might wonder if you could get along
in a country where very few speak English outside of the resort
community. So, the question is, should you take the time and
effort to learn Spanish?
Certainly you would be able to enjoy certain aspects of your
vacation much better if you spoke the same language as the
nation that you are visiting. Being able to read advertising
and newspapers in the region would lend itself to a better
appreciation of Mexico and its culture. Speaking Spanish to
the locals would make life much easier as far as ordering
food, negotiating a price for that souvenir you just can't
live without or even asking for simple directions. Being able
to understand what is being spoken around you would let you
immerse yourself in the culture even more.
However, it may not be necessary to become fluent in Spanish
to enjoy yourself while vacationing in Mexico. Most service
people, especially in resorts and restaurants, will have at
least a rudimentary grasp of English. Many resorts will have
signage and menus printed in English as well. And there have
been many tourists that have experienced speaking to someone
who doesn't speak the same language by using a combination
of sign language, body language, and inflection of common
words like "no" and "auto". Total comprehension
may not be there, but the point usually comes across.
The most common approach people traveling to Mexico use are
to have a pocket size Spanish to English dictionary and memorize
basic words or phrases. Knowing how to ask where the rest
room is or to ask the time can be handy. Having the ability
to pronounce Spanish words is helpful and can be a lot of
fun to practice. And even knowing a word to use in the right
situation, such as "alto" for stop, can be very
helpful.
Memorizing certain key words will be the easiest way to get
your point across to a local and keep your brain from overloading
learning Spanish. Knowing the "banyo" means bathroom
is a big one and "policia" for police is good for
the other type of emergency. Learning the cross streets or
area where your resort is located will, properly pronounced,
give a taxi driver or police officer enough information to
help you get back to your base of operations.
Learning another language is a lot easier today because of
the proliferation of technology. The best type is what is
known as immersion learning. Results say it can be learned
relatively quickly, but it doesn't seem to be necessary for
enjoying a vacation in Mexico. So instead of slapping on headphones
and trying to learn Spanish in a week before you travel to
Mexico, just learn a few key phrases or words, pack your Spanish
to English dictionary, and just wing it while vacationing
in Mexico.
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