Tag: June 2002

Hola! mis amigos, I have been in San Pedro la Laguna, on the shores of
Lake Atitlan, for the past three weeks, learning more Spanish and living
with a lovely family. It was an insight into the lives of people here
and I was glad to have the time to relax and rest after my long overland
trip. The atmosphere in San Pedro could not have been better. No hassle,
lots of learning, good weather and the lake as a lovely backdrop to everything.
I saw a couple of video movies at Nick's Place and otherwise lived
a quiet life.

I did get to Chichicastenango last Sunday for the market and that was
a real change of scene. I refrained from buying all that I could see and
just soaked up the ambience. As I will have the chance to re-visit the
market with the next overland group there was no need to rush into anything.
It was also the only rain I saw in three weeks. The benefit of this was
to clear the air of dust so that, for the first time, I could see why
Lake Atitlan is dubbed 'the most beautiful lake in the world'.
It is certainly picturesque and well worth the visit. Mexico is next on
my itinerary!

Greetings from San Cristóbal las Casas!

I have started my next overland trip and it is as different to the first
as is possible to imagine. I got to Mexico almost three weeks ago from
Antigua, having had my main bag of luggage “disappear” from
my hotel. I have almost come to terms with it now but it was hard to accept
that all my camping things, personal items, some new clothes and various
other bits and pieces were no longer mine. The owner did not want to involve
the police so we settled the matter in dollars cash but it doesn't
really compensate for the loss. I am fine now and have replaced the necessary
and am thankful for having sent so much home in Venezuela. The trip to
Mexico was an overnight bus trip and suddenly I was in Mexico City. It
is pretty high in altitude and very smoggy but it is just a bigger than
average city and I had no trouble there at all. Lots of old and very elegant
buildings in the centre, mariachi bands in Plaza Garibaldi, the Museo
de Anthropologica, parks, palacios, an excellent metro system and a chance
to catch my breath.

From there I went to Guanajuanato, a beautifully preserved colonial town
about 4hrs drive north of Mexico City. Also a university town under a
UN World Heritage site order. I had three days there, and except for the
fact that some insect had me for a midnight feast in my hotel, I loved
the place. Next stop a town 80 kms away called San Miguel de Allende,
and two lovely evenings of music and traditional dances at a local festival.
It was done with their magnificent San Rafael Cathedral for a backdrop
and with lots of goodwill on the parts of both audience and performers.
I then went to Guadalajara, Mexico's second city. It was surprisingly
beautiful in the centre although I had only one day and could not do justice
to its many advertised attractions. From there I descended further and
had a hot and sticky day in Acapulco. It is as ritzy or as grungy as you
like and was surprisingly attractive in a slightly citified/beach resort
sort of way. Back into the hills and a night at the town of Taxco to wander
the streets and try not to buy the mountains of silver on offer. It was
full of cobbled streets and silver shops and they were all up hill!

Back to Mexico City and I succumbed to the tummy bug that I picked up
somewhere so I did not get to see the Basilica of the Virgin of Guadalupe
as I had planned, but I did meet my new leader, Wayne (40, mad, English
Exodus driver) and the two (honest!) other fellows on my new “group”,
Derry (retired 60+ Australian accountant) and Martin (34, English IT technician).
Evidently the van has to be in Panama for a full group in August so they
have to relocate it and decided to run the trip despite the lack of numbers.
So far it has been great. All of us have travelled extensively and we
never seem at a loss for something to say. And while we do not necessarily
agree about everything we very quickly established that we wanted to have
a good time and were prepared to discuss and find the best option for
all. As you can imagine meal times are a group effort and there is no
hassle when it comes to trying to do any activity as we fit in anywhere.
Should be good – I'll keep you posted!

Since leaving Mexico City, we have had two nights in Oaxaco, visited
our first ruins at Monte Alban and Mitla, travelled on to camp in the
Sierra Altavesada at Jiquipilas, and now in San Cristóbal. From here
we head towards the ruins of Palenque and then to Uxmal and Merida, Chichin
Itza and on to the coast. It will evidently be hot and humid from here
on and I will not always have email access so the next group letter will
probably be from Antigua towards the end of the month.

Thanks Jacqui and keep us posted! If anyone would like to contact Jacqui,
her e-mail is: jacquitrotter@yahoo.com

What have you seen on your travels? Drop a line to the Beetle! Beetle@globetrotters.co.uk

About Ecuador – the country is the poorest in South America where the
average salary is $90 per month. As with all countries, there are many
people well off. It is possible to find a very nice hotel for $10 per
night with breakfast or stay for hundreds; the Hilton is there. Climate
wise, it has it all and no change of seasons being on the Equator, hence
Ecuador. Very warm beaches, cool mountains and jungles. All is available
via plane and excellent buses. Read up on the lonely planet and Ecuador.

Quito has the second oldest University in the Americas, Lima Peru being
the first. Look up the hostel Maple on the web and stay in this part of
Quito. There are many such places for $10 to $15/night. You will meet
many fellow backpackers and can hook-up with them if alone. Lots of cafes
to use the web and make calls home. If you want to take Spanish lessons
you can stay with a family or just get private lessons at the numerous
schools for a few dollars per hour. Art is wonderful, so bring back many
items. The Inca people make their own paints and paint on leather not
canvas. Stop them while having coffee on the street and haggle with them
before buying to get to know them a little. They will have their special
outfits and hats and usually a man and wife. They have to be the sweetest
people on the earth. If you do not wish to return to Quito usually via
plane because of time or go on to the Galapagos just keep heading south
to Peru.

I was warned about Guayaquil's problems with muggings, plus it is
hot and muggy-pon. There are several national parks and will take you
to the top of the world with their many volcanoes or to the jungles. The
people known for shrinking heads and dangling them from their waists come
from these jungles. They are still very primitive but now give tours into
their jungles. Roast monkey is still their meal of choice. Quito has many
expedition companies to all these places.

Then hop a bus south and visit many of the antique Spanish towns, more
state parks and spas. The only fairly good road is the Pan-Am highway.
I had an Inca guide with horses and went into the Andes. The trails are
so steep that without the horses could not have returned. The other roads
along steep mountain gorges are very interesting. For $15 a day you can
stay at mineral spring spas near Quenca and purify your body with organic
foods, drinks, body washes/oils and massages. But, I go for the history
and the Inca people. Go to the Indian markets; they are fascinating.

The Inca's meal of choice is deep fried hamster and hedgehog. Inca
people are very shy and non-violent. Their civilization was the largest
in the world prior to the industrial revolution. Then came the Spanish
with small pox, venereal disease, TB, and slavery.

The biggest problem in the world is safe drinking water. I only drink
bottled water. But, in Ecuador the locals water down certain juices, and
South American fruits are wonderful. They are supposed to use water that
is boiled, but hotels may have new help, thus ones ends up with G.I problems
of a major magnitude. Get antibiotic Rx immediately. Medical help was
excellent and very reasonable in the major cities such as Quito and Quenca;
the doctors came immediately to my hostel and there are pharmacies everywhere.
Luckily, I always carry 3 cans of those high calorie vitamin drinks and
can be purchased in pharmacies; I prefer chocolate flavour, and these
helped me through my toughest period of the illness, when I could barely
get out of bed to get something to eat. These nutritional canned drinks
were also useful on long bus journeys there, when sanitary food was not
available. You also may want to carry a better quality toilet paper; it
seems the paper in some countries resembles double 0 sandpaper.

Learning another language is not an easy task. However, there are shortcuts
and even a few tricks that can be employed to make the job a little easier.
Over the years I have learned over 20 languages. I have also learned survival
skills for another 20 or so. I learned my first – second language, the
hard way. I have learned all the others using accelerated learning methods,
many developed by others, and some by myself.

My own language learning journey started with Spanish. I picked up some
survival skills in the language as a sailor in the Navy after port calls
in Spain, Puerto Rico, and the Philippines. Afterwards, when I attended
college I took some Spanish courses as electives. This brought me to a
basic level. But I desperately wanted to go all the way.

What followed were several years of difficult yet self-determined study.
This included: studying the same textbooks over and over, memorizing textbook
glossaries, countless hours listening to language tapes in the car, lots
of Salsa, Tejano, and Latin Pop music, Mexican radio and television, and
most importantly, frequent trips to the border.

Even after 6 to 8 years of study, I had only reached the advanced level.
Finally, I headed to Mexico for 3 months to teach English at a well-known
college in Tampico. This extended period of total immersion in a Spanish-speaking
environment pushed me over the top to full fluency. Reaching the top and
becoming totally fluent was a tremendous achievement. It felt truly wonderful.
I would encourage anyone to follow the same path. But the amount of effort
and time I invested for fluency in Spanish was enormous.

I did not learn my other languages in the same manner. Before I ventured
into learning other languages I invested some time reading books on language
learning methods, accelerated learning, advanced study techniques, and
brain development. For my next language – Italian – I cut the language
learning time in half. For French and Portuguese I cut the time it took
me to learn Italian by half. Since then, I've been able to learn other
major world languages to a medium level of fluency in about a year.

So, what are the tricks?

Build Your Vocabulary – There is a core group of about 50 to 100 essential
words in any language that should be mastered right away. These words
include prepositions, question words, a few adjectives, and some selected
nouns. Learn these words and many other words can be understood eventually
through context.

Memorize Vocabulary Words – Word lists should be memorized and then reviewed
many times over. Saying the new words out loud, rather than just reading
them silently, helps greatly. Word association, imagining an equivalent
word in your native language, can also be helpful. Flash cards might seem
a little low tech but they are quite effective tools for this. Even Post-it
Notes placed on household items with the vocabulary word listed can help.
To gain maximum retention the vocabulary list should be reviewed daily
for a week or two and then again weekly for at least 4 to 5 weeks.

Always Read Aloud! – Don't just read new phrases and vocabulary silently
to yourself. Read aloud. Studies show that this helps you retain new vocabulary
at a much faster rate, plus it helps with pronunciation.

Don't get Bogged Down by Grammar – Let's be honest. Grammar is
a dry subject. It can be an absolute incentive killer. So, just start
out with a brief overview of prepositions, definite and indefinite articles,
singulars and plurals, adjectives, and most importantly, pronouns. Put
off learning conjugation for verb tenses for later on. Just learn enough
grammar at the start to get you by. If you make mistakes no big deal.
Native speakers can understand what you are saying 90% of the time through
context.

Study Phrase Books – Always carry a phrase book with you for the targeted
language you are learning. Study it at every opportunity including standing
in line at a grocery store, waiting on a train or bus, over your morning
cup of coffee, or while relaxing in the yard.

Immersion – Look for every opportunity imaginable to use your languages
skills. The best way of course, is to physically go to the actual country
where your target language is spoken. I cannot stress enough how critical
an element this is. Even if it's for a very short time. Look for any
excuse to travel to the country where your targeted language is spoken.
The next best thing is to visit an area in your city or town where the
language is spoken. Hang out at cafes, libraries, malls, bars, and other
locations and engage foreign language speakers with simple conversation.
Make friends with native speakers. Invite them over for dinner or a few
drinks. Tell them that you want them to speak to you only in their native
language. Date a native speaker. The absolute best way to immerse yourself
quickly is to find a boyfriend or girlfriend who speaks the native language
you are trying to learn.

Watch Television and Movies for Your Targeted Language – These days television
stations are available in a whole range of languages over satellite and
on cable. Watch them for an hour or two every day and try to pick out
familiar words and phrases. Additionally, try to mimic the tone and accent
of the speakers. Go to the local video store and rent movies for your
targeted language. Have a 2-hour review session of vocabulary before you
watch the movie. It's even better to watch them more than once.

Listen to Music for Your Targeted Language – Give your native music a
rest for a short while and experiment with some music from the country
of your targeted language. Many of the national bookstore and CD chains
now have excellent World Music sections. Listen to stations and programs
on radio for your targeted language. You can tune in to some of these
stations on-line.

Listen to Language Tapes! – Purchase some language learning tapes and
listen to them as often as possible. First read the accompanying booklet
to get a feel for the vocabulary and grammar. Then, listen to the tapes
while relaxing at home, while driving to work, on a Walkman when jogging
or while working out, and even while in the shower. Be a maniac with the
tapes. Don't just listen to the tapes in your easy chair or in your
car once a day. Listen to them around the clock. You need to listen to
the tapes about 15 or 20 times before they really start to sink in.

Take Computer Language Courses – Whether on-line or a software program,
computer language courses provide good visualization for learning vocabulary
words.

Immerse yourself in the language learning experience and you will learn
much more quickly.

Eric Dondero is a Certified Language Instructor and Interpreter in Houston,
Texas. He speaks over 20 languages. He is the author of “Worldwide
Multilingual Phrase Book.” Further language learning tips, a Free
Quick Spanish Lesson and a Crash Course in Chinese are available at his
web site at www.portsidelanguages