暗网禁区

In the 8 years since moving to Mexico from the US, I've met countless 暗网禁区s who assumed they'd "pick up" Spanish while living here, with a few months of local classes. It seems most people don't know that it takes a lot of time and effort (e.g. homework, practice) to learn another language. When they realize this, many give up and never master more than the most basic Spanish. My advice would be to start even before you move here. Most of us know years in advance before taking the big step of moving to another country. Use this time to start learning and practicing.

Before coming I Mexico, I had no clich茅. In general, I am not influenced by "clich茅" neither misconceptions. But I didn't expect that people could be so nice and that I would have the feeling of being "at home". Used t travel in other parts of the world, when I left temporally Mexico in聽 early september it was the first time I was "not so happy" to come back in France.

fdinolfo wrote:

In the 8 years since moving to Mexico from the US, I've met countless 暗网禁区s who assumed they'd "pick up" Spanish while living here, with a few months of local classes. It seems most people don't know that it takes a lot of time and effort (e.g. homework, practice) to learn another language. When they realize this, many give up and never master more than the most basic Spanish. My advice would be to start even before you move here. Most of us know years in advance before taking the big step of moving to another country. Use this time to start learning and practicing.

i've been here 5 years as of July, and i agree that practice is a major factor in learning Spanish, But I do not feel you can really learn the Spanish as spoken here in the U.S. For one thing you are taught to use words that are actually not commonly used here.聽 Some of the things that are taught are rude. The other problem is Spanish is not cut and dried, there are many dialects. I have seen the same problem with Spanish speaking people trying to learn English. They usually just give up period.

One thing that is not a cliche is the Mexican sense of time.聽 The only thing you can be sure of is that it's so variable, expect surprises.聽 Doctors do try to stick to their schedule but walk-ins may take priority, depending.

If you're not so young and you don't have time or resources for a year or two full immersion,聽 do as much as you can, staying with a family for a week to a month.聽 I've been dealing in Spanish since 1962, of and on and in spurts.聽 I don't and never will hear Spanish as fast as they speak it.聽 In the last 8 years, I tried to tune my ear for colloquialisms that are common.聽 they vary by region, so there's no comprehensive list.聽 I get by and that's about all I can say.

A final thought, like that Marine who had trouble;e over a rifle in Tijuana, don't ever get yourself in a situation where the police may take interest in you.聽 Not even to stop and help at an auto accident.聽 Nothing might go wrong, but why take a chance?

"You gonna die!" I actually feel safer here in Mexico than in some places in the US.

Gene1023 wrote:

"You gonna die!" I actually feel safer here in Mexico than in some places in the US.

Yes, the Mexican Government screws with Residente Premanentes much less than the US government screws with its citizens.

Still, it doesn't hurt to keep a low profile.

okay

I have to respectfully disagree with Travellight. I attended Spanish Meetups and used online language tools and became an intermediate speaker before arriving to Mexico. With Skype, you can practice every day with a native speaker from the country of your choice.聽 聽Although slang and some words are different, to speak properly all you need is Spanish. Spanish is one language, just like English is.

My misconceptions had to do with how religious and conservative I expected Mexicans to be. I don't find my Mexican contemporaries here much different from my American friends聽 in what they believe in. Their values are pretty much the same, I don't feel any real cultural divide.

kerryinmexico wrote:

I have to respectfully disagree with Travellight. I attended Spanish Meetups and used online language tools and became an intermediate speaker before arriving to Mexico. With Skype, you can practice every day with a native speaker from the country of your choice.聽 聽Although slang and some words are different, to speak properly all you need is Spanish. Spanish is one language, just like English is.

Actually I was referencing formal Spanish training prior to聽 coming to Mexico. No mention was made of SKYPE or on line tools. Both could be useful because they involve more real communication. I was talking about formal classes where they teach you to聽 say Yo at the beginning of every sentence and que if you have a question.
It was the person (fdinolfo) that i was responding to who felt formal training was better than on line tools. I took Spanish in high school but have learned Spanish in Mexico and Peru by actually speaking it. What ever works is what I think. So you will have to respectfully disagree with her.

The most difficult for me is/was to hear fast enough.聽 I still have to hone in on keywords and ask for more explanation when I know I didn't understand.聽 Whatever tools you use, you can evaluate your progress and try other methods available.

After 50 years, off and on, my Spanish may not get any better but a recent 5 day hospital stay indicates i can get by if I'm not too proud to ask for explanation of anything I don't get the first time around.

Totally agree that the Spanish I learned in the US was different from what we speak here. But having learned it there, it was very easy to modify it once I came here, much easier than starting from scratch. Took months rather than years. In any case, they're still mutually intelligible.

Definitely and this goes for France as well!
Here on most lines I can take the last metro while in france you can be attacked ....any time. I don't even mean the suburbian lines like RER or bus lines!

I heard the Champs-Elysees became unsafe, here no problem to walk by night on Paseo de la Reforma.

PS: typical: in Mexico City (at least) everybody mays his public transport ticket.

Small details may catch you if you don't maintain complete awareness of where you are.
I was given an appointment with an internist a $7.50USD taxi ride away from home.
I was also told come one day before for blood work.
The day before, I figure, what the heck I'll go around lunchtime and have a nice lunch nearby.
Well, typical of some Mexican towns, they close for 3 hours for lunch.
After having my lunch there was still 2 hours wait.
I called and found out the hours they were open for lab work and could I have it done the same day as the appointment?聽 If I get there by 10AM, it'd be OK.
I'll get there Monday as soon as they open, have breakfast after the blood is drawn, sign up for Costco, take in a movie, do some shopping and got to my appointment.

The small lapse in awareness cost $15.聽 Minor in the scheme of things.

All our "what the hecks" can surely cause minor irritations.聽 聽Thank you for this important lesson... in finding out clinic hours of operation, lunch closures, etc.聽 聽In essence, good communication BEFORE arrival!

That's a start, but be aware that appointment at 11 is not a fixed appointment. It's a time you must be there but not a time they will see you necessarily. I ran into that again and again with Hacienda appointments. You arrive to get a seat to wait with others. They give you a number, and you sit.

travellight wrote:

That's a start, but be aware that appointment at 11 is not a fixed appointment. It's a time you must be there but not a time they will see you necessarily. I ran into that again and again with Hacienda appointments. You arrive to get a seat to wait with others. They give you a number, and you sit.

That's not necessarily different than the US.聽 DMV, SSA, IRS any number of other government bureaucracies.聽 Doctors' appointments vary all over creation in the US.

In doctors' and dentists' offices here an walk-in in pain can take priority over people with appointments.聽 Also treue in the US.

I have never sat as much as I have had to sit and wait here. Part of the problem is communication via email is more of a concept than a reality. For the most part you must physically go to the place and get in line. Email pretty much goes unanswered. That is whats different about the U.S. vs Mexico.
I understand that and live with that as a given. All of my communication with the U.S. is on-line or in email. I can not do that here. Yes I can check my Mexican bank account on line, it's not simple but I can do it.

I say dont wait the day of the marathon race to begin training.聽 Train well in advance!
Im born bred raised in California married to lady from Guadalajara so I speak and tell her correct me when in error. My Spanish is up to a 7-8 now with daily speaking. I joined an all Spanish speaking church for free! Every bit helps before we move to Nayarit.
Good luck n i hope this helps. Slalom...Frank

gudgrief wrote:

travellight wrote:

That's a start, but be aware that appointment at 11 is not a fixed appointment. It's a time you must be there but not a time they will see you necessarily. I ran into that again and again with Hacienda appointments. You arrive to get a seat to wait with others. They give you a number, and you sit.

That's not necessarily different than the US.聽 DMV, SSA, IRS any number of other government bureaucracies.聽 Doctors' appointments vary all over creation in the US.

In doctors' and dentists' offices here an walk-in in pain can take priority over people with appointments.聽 Also treue in the US.

Well true, but then I didn't usually have a fixed appointment at the DMV in the U.S, I just showed up. The SSA I just emailed or called. As for doctors, if I wasn't seen in a 1/2 hour they could scratch me off of their list. Most government offices in the U.S. can be contacted on line.`

So, here you can check their web site for basic information, but that's pretty much it.聽 You can fill out some paper work and submit it, but it has been impossible for me to skip that appointment. The appointment that so far is never done at the time I was given.

My husband is still surprised by "siesta' which is the same time in Mexico, Italy, France, Spain...........I just assume it is the same everywhere (whether it exists or not).

In the small city where I live, it's hit or miss.聽 "Most," I think businesses are open all day.聽 It's always best to ask what the hours are for smaller businesses are, especially for businesses you might need before 11AM and between 2PM and 5PM.聽 Heck, I'm not sure what siesta hours are or if they are standard.

Who cares ? Most of us are retired. Relax let that NOB rat race go ! No hurry , no dead lines anymore. Blood pressure and heart rate will drop . We will get it done when it is done. Only took me a week or so. If the store is closed I will come back tomorrow, maybe stop for a ice cream on the way home? If someone needs the Doc more than me I will wait and talk to the others waiting with me , maybe make a friend. Life's to short to stress lol. The Rat race doesn't live here, and I don't miss it one bit.

auntierie1 wrote:

My husband is still surprised by "siesta' which is the same time in Mexico, Italy, France, Spain...........I just assume it is the same everywhere (whether it exists or not).

Here They tend to call it lunch if they take it or not. The times vary, but it's pretty much after 1 pm. Then they may come back to work in the evening. The lunch often actually involves lunch or the pub for most.
Cerveza is a hot day essential after all. yesterday about one I was walking back from parking my car on another street ( parking is a whole other topic, as is driving)聽 anyway my neighbor insisted on giving me a ride that short distance and gave me a beer. Mexican norm at it's best.

I am very comfortable going back to having to speak to people in person to confirm appointments and so forth rather than using text and emails. I'm lucky to talk to a human being to plan anything here or in Europex

The traffic cops are corrupt. Ask any local. I鈥檝e been ticketed three time for nothing. It鈥檚 just accepted that the cops are underpaid so they 鈥渢ax鈥� people, especially white folks in rented cars. I was told to keep only 500 pesos in my wallet and cry broke when pulled over. That did not work.聽 I鈥檓 sure I鈥檒l hear a lot of pushback but it鈥檚 no matter. I鈥檓 speaking from experience and from many lessons taught to me by my Mexican friends. It鈥檚 just realty, a cliche that is true.

I had to fight with a cop in San Luis Potosi to take a 250 peso curbside fine for running a red light.聽 It was a rental car and he would have taken the plates or made me wait for a judge to determine the fine.聽 The corruption is not the same all over Mexico.聽 Sometimes you get a ticket for illegal parking, sometimes they take you plates, sometimes they tow.

Rich tourist pickings in Tulum.

gudgrief wrote:

I had to fight with a cop in San Luis Potosi to take a 250 peso curbside fine for running a red light.聽 It was a rental car and he would have taken the plates or made me wait for a judge to determine the fine.聽 The corruption is not the same all over Mexico.聽 Sometimes you get a ticket for illegal parking, sometimes they take you plates, sometimes they tow.

Rich tourist pickings in Tulum.

I only had to use a bribe once to get my drivers license back from a city cop. It wasn't my idea, the insurance agent recommended it when a local raced through a school zone well over the speed limit hitting my rental car. I argued with him about that, because the accident was clearly her fault, but he said it would be much less complicated if I greased the wheels, and he was right I immediately got my license back and was on my way leaving her still yelling at her insurance agent.

Otherwise, I have not had to pay a bribe anywhere in Mexico, and I drive down to the Cancun聽 PDC, Tulum area at least once a year. I would tend to wonder about associations.

travellight wrote:

gudgrief wrote:

I had to fight with a cop in San Luis Potosi to take a 250 peso curbside fine for running a red light.聽 It was a rental car and he would have taken the plates or made me wait for a judge to determine the fine.聽 The corruption is not the same all over Mexico.聽 Sometimes you get a ticket for illegal parking, sometimes they take you plates, sometimes they tow.

Rich tourist pickings in Tulum.

I only had to use a bribe once to get my drivers license back from a city cop. It wasn't my idea, the insurance agent recommended it when a local raced through a school zone well over the speed limit hitting my rental car. I argued with him about that, because the accident was clearly her fault, but he said it would be much less complicated if I greased the wheels, and he was right I immediately got my license back and was on my way leaving her still yelling at her insurance agent.

Otherwise, I have not had to pay a bribe anywhere in Mexico, and I drive down to the Cancun聽 PDC, Tulum area at least once a year. I would tend to wonder about associations.

This reminds me of a story from many years back in Saltillo.聽 I was working for GM and my ex reported an incident as follows.

A truck sideswiped the car when she was in the lefthand lane waiting to make a lefthand turn.聽 The truck pulled up a hundred yards or so down the road, a busy main thoroughfare 4 lane with turning lane.聽 She dumbly waits for cops, city cops, to show up.聽 The truck driver runs up to the cop with a wad of cash in his hand.

By the time she thinks to call me the car was hauled off to the impound yard and she had a summons to appear in court.

I called the plant traffic manager who was no help.

After letting myself calm down a bit, I called my nextdoor neighbor who happened to be the chief of the Federal Highway Police for the State of Coahuila.聽 We were on friendly terms and I had arranged a plant tour for him and his top officers.聽 30 minutes the car was delivered to our company car garage where it was directed to the GM dealer in the city for repairs.聽 I'm sure the Chief had to swap some small favor with the local chief but nothing was ever said and my friendship continued.

Things like this are something to be aware of.聽 There's no secret code book.聽 Make friends with as many Mexicans as you can, preferably people in the know how the system works.