Spanish in Panama – No Hablo Espanol

How can I consider living in a country where I do not speak the predominate language?  This is one of the questions that I asked myself several times before traveling to Panama to consider retiring there.  Surely it would be too hard to go shopping, ask directions, place an order, and simply have any sort of conversation unless I found someone who could translate.  Moreover, I had serious doubts that I could learn the language.  It had been more than 40 years ago since I had taken Spanish in high school and even then my ability to either understand it’s rapid pace and speak it were limited.  In my 60’s aren’t I are too old to take on this sort of challenge, I asked myself, especially when foreign language was never a forte.    

Much to my surprise none of these fears have been long lasting.  Studying a language in a country while in the country is first very different than studying it while living at home because of the reinforcement of using what is learned.    Simple phrases that are used over and over again – Good morning, how are you, how much, please, coffee without cream, good, and often most importantly, where is the bathroom, now fluently roll off my tongue because those are continually used.  I know the basics of a menu to order and can ask about cost to be able to shop without concern.  I can even communicate with someone who does not speak any more English than I do Spanish which is amazing to me, since my time in Panama has been a total of 3 weeks in 2 trips.   

 My ability to communicate in Spanish began when I first arrived.  My son who had learned Spanish by traveling and living in Latin America the past year arranged language classes for me.  Unlike the classes that I might take at home at a community program, the sessions were one on one with an instructor.  In the first 5 minutes I was practicing conversations in Spanish.  Rather than simply reading the book and learning words, I was using the words in a conversation with mispronunciations corrected immediately.  It was a far different process of learning than those old high school classes.  We were able to skip over those things that I did remember (mostly grammar) and concentrate what needed to be relearned.   It was great that there was time.   My sessions usually lasted for 2 hours which meant that there was ample opportunity to practice what was being taught. 

 If this sounds like an expensive way to learn, you will be pleasantly surprise. Scheduling a two hour session at a language school runs about $20.  Finding an instructor, who will teach you on their own time, is less costly than taking classes at a language school.    My last instructor came to the apartment and spent two hours with me at a cost of $16.  He makes more in our arrangement than he is paid when teaching at the school and I get a bargain.  Indeed if I had already moved to Panama,  I would negotiated to pay him $300 to have 2 hour sessions twice a week for 3 months, and expect to tip him a bit more depending on the progress made.  The language barrier is no longer a concern.  I am confident in less than 3 months of instruction that a considerable amount of proficiency will be gained and while I may never speak it like a native, I will have mastered what I need to communicate.   

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