A Very Special Gringo

The joy and pain of learning Spanish. Also: photos from my time in Medellín and a pop quiz to test your Spanish.

There I sat, sweating. 

Hoping, praying, that my nodding and smiling were convincing. That no one would ask me a question. Then it happened. The conversation came to a halt and I heard the question I’d been dreading, “¿Qué piensas, Lachlan?” Four faces turned my way, expectantly. 

4 years studying Spanish in high school. 3 months living in Peru during my gap year. Endless conversations in Spanish over the years with friends, coworkers, and Uber drivers. A month speaking Spanish in Spain hiking the Camino de Santiago.

All that… and now here I was in Medellín, Colombia sitting at brunch with four Colombians, utterly lost, about to be found out for the Spanish fraud I was. I imagined the disappointment on the face of my high school Spanish teacher. Lo siento, Señor Guerra. Perdóname. 

6 days earlier I’d arrived in Medellin, Colombia, ready to take my already great Spanish to the next level. I first studied Spanish in high school over a decade ago. Since then, I’d relished whipping it out whenever I could. I love how Spanish sounds. I love how speaking someone’s language is a cheat code for connecting with them on a deeper level. I love how impressed friends and strangers are when I speak their first language.

Now, I was being humbled. Though I wasn’t sure it ever would, the brunch did eventually end. The day was a Saturday, giving me a good two days to stew. Saturday afternoon I came up with some great ideas to improve my Spanish. Sunday I did none of them, electing instead to binge Obama debate videos on YouTube. As the weekend came to an end, I decided the only reasonable thing for me to do now was give up on Spanish now and forever.

That night my high school spanish teacher Señor Guerra came to me in a dream. He appeared wearing the armor of Don Quixote, a book he had once gifted me that I didn’t read. His steed cantered towards me and he paused, towering above me. Then he spoke in a booming voice: “You can do it. You are not like other gringos; you are a special gringo. Don’t give up.” We locked eyes. He nodded. I nodded. He sauntered off into the sunset. 

Ok that didn’t happen. But I did wake up Monday morning recommitted to learning Spanish. And you know we don’t always remember our dreams, so it could have happened…

At any rate, I decided I needed to make some changes.

First, I realized I needed to change my mindset. The previous week, when a conversation I had in Spanish went well, I saw it as confirmation of my smartness; meanwhile, when a conversation I had in Spanish went poorly, I saw it as a proof of my failure. I also viewed it as an indubitable refutation of my status as a Worldly Person. With this frame in place, it was little wonder I felt mortified, even ashamed, when I struggle to keep up at brunch. I know I know: Fixed Mindset. I’m a cliche. What you gonna do. 

Going forward, I pledged to see things differently. Some days my Spanish would flow; some days it wouldn’t. Both were ok. What mattered was showing up, day after day. Giving myself grace. Letting myself rest. Being good-humored about my inevitable fudges. Being proud of my effort. Asking for help. And having faith that with persistence and time I would improve. 

The second thing I decided I’d update was my approach to learning. In that first week, I’d taken Spanish classes from 9am to 1pm Monday through Friday and tried to speak Spanish with native speakers as often as I could. This was helpful and I wanted to keep doing that. But it bothered me that I half-knew a lot of key grammar and vocabulary. I also wanted a way to see progress more concretely. So, I found a Spanish textbook for beginners and started working through it outside classes. 

I get working through a textbook on your own may not sound super fun. But so far I’ve found it to be really great. I’m able to move pretty quickly through the chapters because I learned most of this in high school. Getting to see everything laid out plus getting chunks of vocab to practice plus exercises to drill each concept has been great. I also love the sense of progress I get after completing each chapter. 

The other tool I’m now using is Perplexity.ai. I love Perplexity. Unrelated to Spanish learning, I use it multiple times a day. It’s mostly replaced Google Search for me. The thought of searching for something, then reading multiple articles to get the answer now feels archaic when you can search the same query on Perplexity and get the answer immediately with references. I’ve tried ChatGPT as well as and vastly prefer Perplexity. 

I’ve found Perplexity to be an incredible tool for learning Spanish. Whether I’m asking a grammar question “Please explain the present subjunctive and give me 10 examples for each use case” or asking it to translate a sentence and explain the usage of each word, it gives me the answer I need concisely and instantly. Plus, it makes it really easy to ask follow up questions. (This is not a sponsored article for Perplexity. I just like it a lot.)

The last thing I decided I’d try out was learning grammar concepts on my own ahead of time. Then, I schemed, I’d use class to practice those concepts as opposed to learning the grammar in the class. I think this is referred to as a “flipped classroom” style of learning? Not sure. I just thought it might work better for me. 

Since last Monday, I’ve been putting all this into practice. Most afternoons after my Spanish class, I go to Pergamino, a cafe near my school, to study grammar with the textbook. So far I’ve seen a big positive difference in how much I’m learning and how much I enjoy the learning.

Coincidentally, yesterday morning, a Saturday, I had brunch with two Colombian friends. Mostly, we spoke in Spanish. Call it a do over from that painful, sweaty brunch a week prior. So how’d it go??

Not great. I struggled a lot to understand the conversation. Again. I think there’s something about being in a group with background noise that’s particularly hard for me. 

And yet, this time I was more honest upfront, explaining my brain was tired from speaking Spanish all week, asked them to speak slowly, admitted when I was lost, and was able to laugh at myself when I was totally lost. It ended up being a lot of fun. 

No doubt, in the next few weeks I’ll have more brunches like yesterday’s where my Spanish just isn’t Spanish-ing. Still, I’m hopeful. I think with the right mindset – one that’s good-humored, forgiving, and oriented towards learning – and the right tools, I’ll not only steadily improve my Spanish but also maybe even enjoy the process. 

And, if all else fails, I need only bring to mind my very first Spanish professor, Señor Guerra, riding aloft Rocinante, exhorting me to keep going, and reassuring me that I am, indeed, a very special gringo.

“Don Quixote” by Pablo Picasso (1955)

---

Some highlights from Colombia so far in photos…

^Yesterday’s brunch.

^Medellín is beautiful. Exhibit A.

^Medellín is beautiful. Exhibit B. View from my Airbnb.

^Dinner with friends Katie (left) and Maria (middle). Both live in Medellín now. Maria and I have been friends since college. Katie and I have been friends since 5th grade(!)

^On a hike. Lots of greenery in and around Medellín. 

^Field trip with my Spanish class.

^Dinner with a mix of Colombians and extranjeros (foreigners).

^My first “frijolada”. Sooooo good.

^Taking a salsa class.

^My Colombian Spanish professor, Wendy.

^A field trip with my Spanish class.

^Hats.

---

Another reason I want to learn Spanish well is so I can read works by Colombian authors without needing them translated. Life goal: read Gabriel García Marquez’s “One Hundred Years of Solitude” in the original Spanish. Also so I can one day read “Don Quixote” by Spain’s Miguel de Cervantes in the original.

---

POP QUIZ (answers below)

Grammar

1. Fill in the blank “El partido ______ en la capital.” (Es or está)

2. How do you say “61 men” in Spanish?

3. How do you say “The exam is on Monday.” in Spanish?

4. How do you say “What color is the table?” in Spanish?

5. How many weapons does Vin Diesel have? 

Paisa Slang

6. What does “giving papaya” (dando papaya) mean?

7. Which STI is used in a common Colombian expression?

8. What’s a “refajo” and does it taste good?

9. If someone is “throwing the dogs” (echando los perros), what are they doing?

10. What are 3 ways to say something is “cool” in Colombia? 

Answers

1. Es. I know. It’s shocking.

2. Sesenta y un hombres. Did you think it was uno?

3. El exam es el lunes.

4. ¿De qué color es la mesa?

5. 10 weapons. Ven di sal haz ten ve pon se. Image below.

6. Making yourself an easy target for pickpockets eg walking around with your iPhone in hand, wearing a Rolex and a Gucci shirt.

7. Gonorrea eg “Hola gonorrea!”

8. Beer plus Colombian soda, and surprisingly yes.

9. Flirting.

10. Chevere, bacano, chimba eg “¡Que chimba!”