Learning the Language

[LNLisa]

Hi, my sister and I will be cruising to Mexico and Honduras next February. I've been wondering about the merits of learning to speak Spanish.

 

I speak French, and my sister speaks some German, but neither of us speak Spanish. We've traveled abroad a bit, and I have to say that I don't like not being able to speak the language when I visit another country. I had a brother that got lost on a bike ride on the coast of Belgium. Since none of us spoke Dutch, it was really a frightening and frustrating experience for everyone. I believe that as visitors we would probably enjoy the country and the people more if we spoke some of the language. Port visits are so short though, and I wonder if it makes any kind of difference?

 

Has anyone taken the time to learn Spanish, or another language, before the cruise? If so, did you think it was worth the time? Was there a program or regiment that you followed to learn the language that worked well?

 

I took French all through middle school, high school and college, but I didn't actually learn to speak French until I was in France for an extended period of time, so I'm kind of worried about how effective a language program would be? Also, I'm slightly worried about losing my French while learning Spanish.

 

Suggestions would be appreciated. :D

[TEXASMUNK]

You will encounter...shop keepers, drivers, tour operators....all of whom speak some English. If you stay was longer, I would applaud your efforts. Not sure it would be of much value for a cruise...although being multi-lingual is highly valued.

[tortugas]

Just learn at least the basics, hello, goodbye, good afternoon, and most importantly, thank you :-) I think it's appreciated that you've made the effort and it definitely adds to the fun of your experience! At least it does for me.

[sept10dsm]

The French should help too. Many verb stems are similar and many speak enough English to get by.

[LNLisa]

Thanks for the opinions; they help a lot. Being a native Texan, there are many basic words and phrases that I already know. So rather than a formal attempt to learn the language, I think I'll just focus on adding to those words and phrases.

 

Hopefully, if I do try to speak a little Spanish, no one will giggle at me like my French cousins always have! :p

[Sue L]

Just learn at least the basics, hello, goodbye, good afternoon, and most importantly, thank you :-) I think it's appreciated that you've made the effort and it definitely adds to the fun of your experience! At least it does for me.

 

 

Besides these, I think one of the most important two phrases are "where is the...." fill in the blank and "how much?"

[zantedeschia]

 

Hopefully, if I do try to speak a little Spanish, no one will giggle at me like my French cousins always have! :p

Oh no, they definitely appreciate the effort. What I've found they don't like is if you mispronounce the words, so put your effort into learning the correct pronunciation. (Found out by Mexicans getting annoyed with me that Cozumel is pronounced koe-su-MELL.)