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Moisheh

Oct 14, 2003, 3:21 PM

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When not to speak Spanish

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In another thread on this forum one of the posters recommends learning and using Spanish with officials. There are times when it is better to pretend you dont understand . This applies to most military check points. Once we were on a return trip from Tapachula (what a horrible city). There are lots of check points: military, federales, and immigration. We stopped at one army check point and the personnel spoke no english. He greeted us and I gave him my best" how are you doing?" He asked me in Spanish if we spoke espanol. I looked at him as if I only spoke Chinese. He asked me agian. I smiled. He asked if we spoke even one word in Spanish. Then he asked if we had a dictionary. Finally he shook his head, muttered something about dumb gringos and motioned for us to pass. Sounds extreme , but on a previous trip one of the army guys tried to shake us down for $20.00. He settled for some candy.

Nick

Oct 14, 2003, 7:01 PM

Post #2 of 5 (833 views)

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Re: [Moisheh] When not to speak Spanish

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Last January when my wife and I were returning from the Guadalajara area we were stopped at a military check point. The soldier spoke to me in Spanish and I pointed to my wife. She is very light skinned and he asked her if she was Latina. Speaking to him in Spanish she explained that she is from Jalisco and I was from here (Califronia). He expressed his surprise that she, looking as if she was North of the border, was with a Gringo..... When she told him she found me North of the border and I treated her like the princess she was and that her family accepted me as I was, he turned to me and started giving me hell (with a smile) for not speaking Spanish and that the next time I crossed his path, I better be able to speak to him or else.....

The measure of a person is determined by the way he accepts responsibility for his actions.

mcrown

Oct 14, 2003, 8:18 PM

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Re: [Moisheh] When not to speak Spanish

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When someone says to you ¿Qué me ves? pinche gringo asqueroso.

Guapo Gabacho

Oct 15, 2003, 5:02 AM

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Re: [mcrown] When not to speak Spanish

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Moisheh is only half right. Tapachula, Chiapas is a lovely city. Its only fault seems to be the unavailability of a walled RV trailer-park in which to segregate one’s self.

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We do not inherit the Earth from our Ancestors, we borrow it from our Children.

alex .

Oct 17, 2003, 2:07 PM

Post #5 of 5 (726 views)

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Re: [Moisheh] I used to think that way,

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that playing dumb was a good idea, until I realized that folks were starting to believe it .
Alex