It was my fault really. Armed with a 3 month Spanish language class from Edmonds Community College, I just wanted to take my knowledge to the next level - really communicating with native Spanish speakers. Well I flunked. Big time. My Spanish professor who had given me a well deserved “A” in the class would have been disgusted and disillusioned. I worried that maybe I had beginning Alzheimers. But enough, here’s the whole sad story.
My husband and I were taking a 25th silver anniversary holiday in San Carlos, Mexico, and staying at the beautiful Sea of Cortez Beach Club. We found out online that the daytime temperatures were going to be in the mid 80s. Perfect! Night time temperatures didn’t register on our consciousness, but once there we realized that we were ill equipped to hang out in an unheated room with temperatures in the 40s. After two nights of cold that beat Seattle, I decided I needed something warmer than my romantic teddy in order to sleep.
Having seen a Walmart on the way from the airport, I thought, “Ah-hah, a great place to pick up some warm nightwear.” Telling my long-suffering man that I would only be a minute, I dashed into the store. It was huge, with few English words in sight. I finally spotted some long pants in what looked like the ladies’ sleepwear department, but I wasn’t sure that size CH would work. In fact I couldn’t figure out what it even meant. Three sales ladies visiting nearby were completely baffled by my question about sizes, and stared at me without comprehension. It was at that moment that an overwhelming need to use a bathroom struck and would not be denied. Switching questions I asked about a bathroom. I absolutely could NOT remember the word for toilet. I gestured, and said “toilet, toiletten, too-ah-let” but to no avail. Short of taking down my pants and squatting, it wasn’t going to work. Finally one gestured to follow and we headed to the back of the store which proved to be a very long walk. Once there she pointed to the back corner, smiling and nodding.
I smiled and nodded back. This made sense, I had been in stores like Home Depot or Lowes, where the bathrooms were in the rear corner, so headed quickly in that direction only to find a dead end. Turning in desperation I found another saleslady who was equally unskilled in English and I went through the same charade. She nodded, then went to a phone at the pharmacy counter. No luck. She didn’t understand what I wanted, and I was truly desperate. Because I can speak a little Swedish, a little French and a very little Russian I tried all the words that might work - toaletten, toilettes, and tualet – to no avail. Finally I asked for paper and pencil and drew a picture of a toilet. To this she simply shook her head vehemently and said “no, no, no” and with a few more gestures I finally realized she thought I wanted to BUY a toilet. I shook my head equally vehemently, and she finally seemed to get what was needed. Again nodding and smiling, she beckoned for me to follow her back to the very front of the store, pointing victoriously to a huge sign proclaiming something like los sanitarios, with the familiar man-woman symbols underneath. I had walked right by it, unseeing, on arrival, and then it hit me….bano! The words los banos had eluded me. A 5 minute shopping expedition had turned into a 25 minute misadventure with the uncomfortable realization that I had a very long way to go before I could claim any knowledge of the Spanish language.
I guess the moral of the story is to take a pocket size phrase book with you whenever you are visiting another country, and not to assume that people will understand your needs. For your information I have researched the word for toilet in every country to which you might travel. The variety of words are astounding. http://www.omniglot.com/language/phrases/toilet.htm
The other lesson learned was that I had better get serious about making use of my Rosetta Stone CDs before I head south again. And I DO want to take another trip to visit our southern neighbors. What a friendly, helpful and delightful group of people! Perhaps, in a later blog, I will tell you more about the outdoor market and beautiful harbor in Guaymas, great tasting coffee and buns at Barracuda Bob's, the amazing view while having a drink at Charlie’s Rock, the anniversary dinner at Blackie’s, a truly authentic Mexican lunch at Rosa's Cantina, the funny music at Bananas, the pearl farm near the university, the nature cruise with Gary and Donna, birdwatching everywhere, especially dive bombing pelicans, the quaint little fishing village at the end of a dirt road, and the hotel’s outstanding restaurant-bar, pool and hot tub.
Though originally influenced by all the cautions listed on certain web sites, as well as those uttered by friends and family members, we felt perfectly safe in both Guaymas and San Carlos. We learned that tourism is down by over 70% in that area, and that this area which depends a lot on tourism is suffering economically. We met several people who had driven down from Phoenix and California, and we ourselves rented a car to do some exploring. So, put this part of Mexico in your travel plans. You definitely won’t be sorry.
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