Puerto Rican is Hard

What I learned about language-learning during my weekend in Puerto Rico

My buddy Greg and I decided to visit Puerto Rico on a whim for Memorial Day weekend. The weather in Philly was awful and both of our plans had been cancelled, so we booked some reasonably priced flights and found places to sleep. It was more of a hassle than it should’ve been, but it was very worth it in the end. We had an amazing trip. Puerto Rico is a beautiful island with laid-back and welcoming people. Go there. If you are in the United States, it is super easy. If you are on the East Coast of the US like me, it is easier than going to California, and a lot less American, even though it is a US commonwealth.

I landed in San Juan excited, ready for some fun, and a little bit nervous. I was going to be in a Spanish-speaking country/place for the first time since starting to learn Spanish, and my competence would be put to the test. My buddy from Miami who is natively bilingual said that I would really struggle to understand Caribbean Spanish, and he was completely correct. Imagine a foreign speaker reaching a conversational level of American English and then going to Jamaica and trying to communicate. That’s pretty much what happened here with me in Spanish.

Since I am a self-taught conversational speaker, I am able to speak and understand, but I am not truly fluent, so my mind doesn’t automatically think in Spanish. Sometimes it does and sometimes it just translates rapidly as words come in or out. Truly native speech is tough due to the speed, and colloquial Spanish is super challenging. As I found myself finally putting my learning from the last 13 months to the test, I had an amazing thrill of a time but took my lumps along the way. Through it all, I also happened to learn a lot about language-learning itself. Here it goes:

1. Environment matters a lot. Noise and masks made my time difficult at points. My italki conversations are in a somewhat controlled environment since they are one-on-one. Compound this with the Puerto Rican accent and it is a recipe for miscommunication. Be aware of the effect of environment and don’t be shocked when music or ambient noise causes issues.
2. A language-learner must accept and welcome failure and roll with it. Don’t be hard on yourself, especially after a screw up. It is super easy — especially for those with perfectionist tendencies like yours truly — to get lost in retroactive analysis of a statement or conversation, like how I said “quedamos los menus” (we stay the menus) when I meant so say “guardamos los menus” (we keep the menus). The person you are talking to is most likely not annoyed and they certainly aren’t going home saying ‘some loser mixed up the word for keep and stay’. They don’t care. You should follow suit.
3. It helps a lot to tell them you are learning. Or to tell them that your Spanish is broken. This was Greg’s idea and it reduced the pressure so much when I preempted conversations with it. I now realize why people who speak fluent or near fluent English still apologize for their English. It has little to do with the native-speaker, it’s more of a strategy for calming nerves.
4. Speak as fast and as clearly as you want to be spoken to. As I have improved, I have started speeding up my speech and annunciating less, so as to mirror native speakers, which is great in the grand scheme of things. However — it also indicates to the native speaker that you really know your stuff, which means they may speak to you in a native or colloquial way. While this may be flattering, it also makes understanding an issue, especially when you are speaking to others in a difficult dialect, or if you are in situations where you really need to understand them. It can instead be helpful to signal that you speak intermediate Spanish by slowing down and annunciating. This way, the native speaker will mirror you to a degree, so instead of doing the Spanish equivalent of saying “yo how we feelin ‘night ya wanna booze it up or get some grub?”, they will say “hey how’s it going? Do you want something to drink or eat?” …most people intend to communicate not confuse, so they neutralize their speech when appropriate. Not everyone, but most.
5. High stakes situations and comprehension must be synthesized/practiced in your day to day language learning. Role play and speedy Spanish will be introduced into my program with my teachers. I have had hour-long conversations about a variety of deep topics, from relationships to politics to nutrition to the hotel industry to philosophy. I even once spoke with my Argentine teacher for half an hour about Spongebob. But all of these conversations do not put you in a place to really enforce rapid comprehension and a discreet yes-or-no understanding of a question. In a way, their depth leaves room for interpretation and that makes it easier to communicate without having to 100% understand what is being said.
6. Don’t confuse someone’s response for an indication of bad Spanish. People have bad days, quiet demeanors, and different mindsets about English-speakers. Not every response, verbal or otherwise, is an indicator that you screwed up or that you are an imposition. Another great point by Greg.
7. Celebrate the wins. You are communicating in Spanish, even in a place with a notoriously difficult and fast accent. That’s the whole point and you shouldn’t lose sight of the fact that you are achieving the goal. While I made a litany of mistakes on my trip, including ones I consider pretty amateurish, I still feel quite fulfilled by my time communicating with Puerto Ricans in their native tongue. If anything, I am just hungry for more. I can’t put my finger on it, but it is something like seeing a movie in color for the first time, and that is incredibly rewarding.