Language Rocks: Spanish Rules
I once took a train ride from Spain to Italy during a month long trip in Europe. I had gathered enough Spanish phrases before and during the first part of my trip that I was able to navigate, respond and ask for key essentials when necessary. When I got off the train in Italy, however, I had not prepared at all. I was in a smaller town and I quickly realized I didn't even know basic words in Italian (other than gelato, which did turn out to be useful...ha).
It was an incredibly frustrating first day of travel as I found every attempt at communication to be difficult. After that challenging day exploring in Italy I determined I would never again embark on international travel without preparing myself with a few basic phrases.
The Travel Yogi map takes you to Mexico, Iceland, France and beyond, so we've decided to start a 4 part series to help you prepare for your yoga retreat with 10 key phrases covering each of the foreign languages you can find our map.
We're kicking off with prep for our Mexico yoga retreats in Baja and the Mexican Riviera by preparing you with a few key Spanish phrases to help you navigate. Of course, you'll have plenty of help from the hosts at each of our retreat locations, but this way you can maximize your travel time and feel more comfortable diving in to the local culture as you adventure.
10 Important Spanish Phrases
Good morning. Buenos días [BWEH-nohs DEE-ahs]
How Are You? ¿Cómo estas? [KOH-moh ays-TAHs] (informal greeting)
Excuse me. Discúlpe [dees-COOL-pay-may]
Do you speak English? ¿Hablas inglés? [AH-bla een-GLAYS]
I don't understand. No entiendo [Noh ayn-TEEAYN-doh]
How much does it cost? ¿cuánto cuesta? [KWAHN-toh KWAY-stah]
The bill, please. La cuenta, por favor. [ah KWAYN-tah, pohr fah-BOHR]
Can you help me? ¿Puede ayudarme? [PWAY-day ah-yoo-DAHR-may]
Red Wine/White Wine Vino tint [BEE-noh TEEN-toh]/Vino blanco [BEE-noh BLAHN-koh]
Would you like to dance with me? ¿Quisieras bailar conmigo? :)
Brushed up on your Spanish and grab a spot on retreat. Here's your chance to show off your language chops, deepen your practice and zen out español style:
Up next week, phrases to help as you navigate your Iceland yoga retreat. Until, then... where will yoga take you?