If there is one big piece of advice I could give to anyone visiting South America (particularly females travelling alone) it would be make sure you have a decent grasp of Spanish.  By decent grasp I don’t mean Spanglish picked up in Mexico or on the Costa del Sol, or for that matter Spanish you learned in school donkeys years ago. I realise that an ability to speak Spanish might seem an obvious advantage (if not a necessity!) when visiting a Spanish speaking country, but in truth as English speakers we do tend to assume most people speak some English and that we’ll cope.

I thought that my schoolgirl Spanish would be sufficient to get by with which was somewhat naiive. The reality is that here in Anatuya,  it’s like putting someone who has learned some basic  English in Aberdeen or  Glasgow and seeing  how they cope!  “Dinnae worry aboot nicht – ye’ll be fine” (yeah right!) Just forget what you thought you knew and start again please!

The first few days helping at kindy were a baptism of fire. I swiftly learned phrases like “don’t cry!”, “get off the table” “sit down!”  “on the chair!” and of course there’s ” no!”  “no!” and then again “no!” Even when the littlies do understand what I am saying, very often I don’t understand their response which can be upsetting for them (and frustrating for everyone else around). Trying to get the little darlings to stay in the kindy area is difficult at the best of times, but there were huge floods of tears when I told one little girl she must stay put when all she wanted to do was go to the bathroom! Oops!

A disadvantage of having learned a few languages at school is that you can also often mix languages up. E.g. I have on more than one occasion asked people here to do me a “map” so I don’t get lost. Imagine their confusion when I hand them a piece of paper and pen and ask them to “escribe me una carta”. Carte being French for map – however the word  “carta” in Spanish means a number of other things as well as possibly a map.   I suspect that a few people wondered if I wanted  them to write to me when I go home to New Zealand….

Yesterday however I realised the full extent of my language shortcomings when I visited the capital of the region. I didn’t have a bus ticket but my name was on the list so all good the hotel manager assured me. I forgot my bible (dictionary), left behind my passport, telephone numbers for everyone here including the hotel and promptly forgot the name on the minibus that transported me there. Oh dear.

There was a mix up over bus times – I realised I would miss kindy and trying to explain to anyone I asked for help that yes I had a ticket but no there was no ticket of any sort that I could produce was not easy.  It occurred to me that I could be stranded there for the evening with no passport or other ID to produce to a local hotel. When you are the slightest bit stressed it’s surprising how all knowledge of a foreign language deserts you and you start gesticulating like a bad version of charades! Anyway thankfully a phone call to C in BA solved the kindy issue (thank you C!) and I managed to work out the rest and get back without further issue.

So – although the language is getting a bit easier to understand and I can even manage my way through the paper now quite happily, it’s probably best not to think about all of the mistakes I am making when I open my mouth or the impression I am leaving!!! Still at least the kids havent been rotten and tried to trick me into saying all kinds of rubbish (have they???)………