Tag Archives for " language learning "

0 A Unique Adventure in Baños, Ecuador (+ 5 Tips for Learning a New Language Before a Trip)

The bright yellow house down in the green jungle valley below beckoned us. We were in Baños, one of the most popular tourist towns in Ecuador, walking up a dirt road off the tourist radar, beyond all the hostels, tour companies, and restaurants and into the surrounding farmlands. Huge greenhouses growing babaco fruit (which resembles a papaya but tastes completely different) and tomates dulces (”sweet tomatoes”—another tropical fruit that resembles a tomato but is unrelated) dotted the hillsides. The yellow house had a huge sign on it which read, “Cafe Bar.” We strained to see a road to the place, perhaps in the trees behind the building… But it looked like it was down there by itself, in the jungle across a river canyon, with only a footpath leading to it. Continue reading

0 How To: Learn the Local Language

Being able to speak even a few basic phrases of the language of the country you plan to visit will pay off in more ways than one.  This is a strategy I use to not only help me save a little more money, but also to increase my safety and connect with the locals in a more fulfilling way.  By making the effort to speak the language of your destination, in most cases the locals will be far more likely to help you, give you better prices on their goods, and generally like and respect you much more than the next tourist who expects everyone to speak English to them.  Even in situations where the guides, shopkeepers, waiters and others speak English, if you speak to them in their own language it will put a smile on their faces and you’ll get a lot more positive attention from them.

A few nights ago my husband and I landed in Ecuador.  We spent our first day in Guayaquil.  As we walked along the Malecón Salado (boardwalk along the river), we found a man with a long pole reaching high into a mango tree and decided to interact with him.  “¿Qué está haciendo?” I asked him (What are you doing?).  Continue reading