Thursday, March 01, 2007

Taxi Spanish

Suffice to say I have taken Spanish classes off and on for the last 15 years but alas, IT just is very difficult for me. And yes, I did business in Mexico for almost 30 years BUT always hired interpreters. So, here's the scenario.
I walk DOWN the hill from my house to the centro frequently, but very infrequently (let's say almost never) do I walk UP the hill. It is a breathtaking adventure, to put it mildly. So, I take one of the plentiful taxis up the hill for 20 pesos which is about $1.70US.
After getting in the taxi and greeting the taxi driver with "Buenes tardes" usually, I launch into where my house is: "Arriba Cuesta de San Jose" and the rest of it in Spanish and I actually say it all pretty fast...........hence they think I can speak fluent Spanish so they often launch into something that I get about every eighth word.............
Then I MUST say "Neccesito practicar mi Espanol" and from there the conversation in Spanish begins. They correct the words I say incorrectly, but very gently. They correct my pronunciation, but kindly. We laugh and talk and the next thing I know I'm at my door and sometimes wish we could keep talking. They ALWAYS seem to have enjoyed the exercise!
And often, I get inside and am not sure exactly what we talked about but it is so much fun. And then I realize all of the mistakes I made gramatically or with pronunciation but I AM learning.

1 comment:

picklesandroses.blogspot.com said...

I remember the limo service there helping me over and over pronounce the name of your street and I never did get it right.