Span-glish

The language barrier so far on day to day basis has proved very frustrating. Very few people here in Monterrey that i have come across speak English. Although i am learning latin american spanish, at first it was hard to get my head and mouth around  the local dialect. Latin american spanish consists of complicated grammar, verbs and phrases that will make your head spin. One vowel or consonant difference can mean the difference between an insult and asking for directions. Its this which can become very frustrating to someone trying to learn spanish.

 However Latin American Spanish is very widely spoken and its certainly an advantage to have it in your arsenal. From the USA to Mexico and all of South america with the exception of a few states such as Brazil. From it you can easly learn Brazilian Portuguese and Italian so im told. There has been certain days when its been easy to communicate with the locals, suprising even myself with how much I've learn't and other days when i wish id never opened my mouth. Most of the billboards or advertisements i see i can work out. Newspapers are slightly harder and mexican soap opreas are a nightmare as the actors/actress's speak very quickly. So normally im religated to watching sesame street or films with english subtitles. When speaking to spanish speaking people, there is a very big clue they dont understand you..it usually involves a complete and utter blank look followed by silence. At this point i usually throw a quick "Lo siento, Yo soy ingles, mi espanol es malo" (im sorry im english my spanish is bad) This certainly doesn't excuse the awful spanish but they certainly understand why its bad. There comes a time when you mix spanish and English and you get Span-glish and in this i am fluent !!!. 

Being an English man in northern Mexico there are pro's and con's. One of the latter is people automatically presume your American with money. Mainly due to the light skin and light features. Which has caused me at least one problem so far. However as long as you stick to the nice areas its not normally an issue. So far ive been embraced by the localsand made some good friends. They say the best way to learn is to be in the country and speak with the locals. This is something i do almost everyday and as i said before its suprising how much ive learnt.
Before i came here to Monterrey i did a TEFL course work as a language advisor (i get paid to have conversations with people in English). Its an fairly easy job, as most of the time your just having a conversation in english with someone, about themselfs or some other subject. You have to enjoy interacting with other people and its important to do so with a smile on your face !. Now im almost in my 6th month here in Mexico and i am really enjoying it. In short the TEFL course has certainly changed my life. I live in an  other country have a totally different life style !!!.