| ¿Donde esta el baño? ¿Como esta | | | | of new condos, new hospitals, a new |
| usted? That pretty well sums up two years of | | | | University of Guadalajara campus, new |
| high school Spanish taken as a college prep | | | | airport, new maritime terminal, etc. built in |
| course almost 50 years ago! Of course, why | | | | Vallarta. As tourism increased, so did the |
| would anyone ever need to know Spanish having | | | | requirement for speaking English by the |
| never met a Mexican, let alone thought about | | | | locals. If they could understand and speak |
| going to Mexico? My, how times have changed! | | | | English, they could obtain the higher paying |
| | | | jobs where interaction with tourists is a |
| After living in Houston for 25 years, we | | | | routine occurrence. Jobs such as waiting |
| discovered that Mexico was only two hours | | | | tables, caddying, taxi driving, police |
| away and that it had some very intriguing | | | | department, clerking at front desks in |
| qualities to offer. In 1984 we bought a condo | | | | hotels, offices, hospitals, airport, etc. and |
| in Mismaloya, south of Puerto Vallarta, and | | | | management positions in stores and other |
| made semi-annual visits to Vallarta for 13 | | | | businesses could pay three times as much as |
| years before buying a villa in the foothills | | | | construction work, daily labor, cleaning, |
| of the Sierra Madres, overlooking Banderas | | | | etc. where there is no requirement for |
| Bay and El Centro, the downtown area of PV. | | | | English speaking skills. The difference in |
| | | | wages was so obvious and substantial that |
| When we moved to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, | | | | during the past ten years, most all of the |
| known as PV or Vallarta by the locals, ten | | | | younger generation of people in Vallarta are |
| years ago, our Spanish vocabulary consisted | | | | taking English classes in school and |
| of about five words. Fortunately, a few taxi | | | | understand and speak basic English. Even |
| drivers, most restaurant waiters, and some | | | | those that haven't had a day of classroom |
| caddies spoke, or at least understood, a | | | | English have a good understanding of |
| little English. In order to survive here, it | | | | "Espanglish" and we therefore have absolutely |
| was imperative to understand and speak some | | | | no problem communicating with anyone in |
| degree of Spanish. During our first month in | | | | Vallarta. |
| Vallarta, we purchased text books, manuals, | | | | |
| dictionaries, and hired a tutor to come to | | | | Virtually all educated Mexicans in PV such as |
| our villa twice a week. | | | | doctors, lawyers, engineers, architects, |
| | | | bankers, nurses, teachers, etc. are fluent in |
| We worked diligently for almost six months, | | | | English. In fact, the majority of these |
| learning Spanish words, paraphrases, tenses, | | | | people seem to prefer speaking English with |
| etc. so that we would have a chance of | | | | Americans and Canadians. Typical music in |
| communicating with the locals. To assist our | | | | restaurants, bars, hotels, and even dental |
| learning process, we watched our Mexican TV | | | | offices are the popular American songs. |
| which had about five channels; CNN, Mexican | | | | American magazines, newspapers, and books are |
| shows aimed at sixth graders, and American | | | | available throughout the city, whereas ten |
| movies with Spanish subtitles. We would then | | | | years ago they were virtually non-existent. |
| turn off the volume and try to understand the | | | | |
| movies by reading the subtitles. Not much | | | | In summarizing, having knowledge of Spanish |
| fun, but the price you had to pay in order to | | | | is no longer a prerequisite for visiting or |
| live in Paradise where the average daily | | | | retiring in Vallarta. The majority of the |
| temperature during the "high season" of | | | | retirees that live in PV have little Spanish |
| November through May is 73°F with | | | | speaking ability and get along just fine. |
| virtually no chance of rain! | | | | Most all tourists by plane or cruise ship |
| | | | have no knowledge of Spanish and they too |
| We spent that first summer back in the States | | | | have no communication problems. |
| and upon returning to PV, we got lazy and | | | | |
| discontinued our studies. Satellite TV became | | | | Obviously, Vallarta is not typical of Mexico, |
| available in Vallarta and we no longer had | | | | however, those considering a trip to or |
| the five Mexican channels, but instead had | | | | retirement in Vallarta with no Spanish |
| 350 channels from the US. Fortunately for us, | | | | speaking ability, should not be concerned |
| the tourism boom in Vallarta was just | | | | about a language barrier here. At the rate |
| beginning to occur ten years ago. | | | | things are changing in PV, who knows, English |
| | | | could become its primary language in another |
| During the past decade, there have been | | | | generation! |
| thousands of new houses and tens of thousands | | | | |