3 Surprising Lessons I Learned in Mexico

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I was hoping the hospital in Mexico wouldn’t be too expensive.

To be fair, a one night stay here in the states would cost more than my car.

But still…

When I got the bill last Wednesday, it stung.

Woulda been more fun to spend that $2500 on first-class tickets home instead.

En mi familia, tengo fama de ser él que nunca se enferma – I never get sick on trips.

I’ve never had to be overly careful with what I eat.

Unfortunately, my lucky streak ran out last week.

After almost passing out in downtown Puerto Vallarta, my wife wisely forced me to go to the hospital.

Around 16 hours of IVs and needle pricks later, I finally felt good enough that el médico me dio de alta – the doctor discharged me.

All told, not the best part of our trip.

But this is not a woe-is-me story.

I’m thankful to have recovered quickly.

The real reason I share this here is because of the interesting Spanish lessons I learned while I was eating hospital Jell-O.

Lesson #1: Lime cures everything

I loved this one. Throughout our stay, I heard from a number of locals that lime not only goes on everything, but also disinfects and cures.

At one point, I asked a nurse about it and he told me all about how his family sees limes:

Mi madre no toma medicamentos. Siempre que le duele el estómago o que tiene alguna enfermedad, me dice “tráeme la mitad de un limón”, y lo chupa, y se le pasa el dolor. 

My mother doesn’t take medicine. Whenever her stomach hurts or she has some kind of illness, she says “bring me half of a lemon”, and she sucks on it, and her pain goes away.

And when I left the hospital with my prescription, there was a surprise: 

In addition to my antibiotic, the doctor had prescribed an electrolyte drink — specifically, the lemon-lime flavor.

Every culture has its own secrets, traditions and collective wisdom when it comes to health.

I love limes, so I think I’ll adopt this one myself.

Learning a language also means learning about culture and different perspectives on everyday life.

And lime is a staple of many Latin American cultures.

*Btw, in most of Latin America, limón = lime, while limón amarillo = lemon. Meanwhile in Spain, limón = lemon and lima = lime.

Lesson #2: Context makes Spanish Vocabulary MUCH more memorable

¿Ya tomaste suero?

¿Ya te tomaron los signos?

Vas a sentir un piquete… perdón, otro piquetito más.

There are always new words to learn in any language.

I’m lucky to be in generally good health, so my medical vocab isn’t the best.

But last week, context taught me all I needed to know…

And seared it into my memory.

When the nurses repeatedly asked about whether I’d been drinking my suero (a serum/solution), I was confused at first.

But then I figured out they were referring to the electrolyte drinks they’d been giving me.

suero

When a nurse asked me if they’d taken my signos, it took me a minute to realize she meant my signos vitales — my vital signs.

Then when she came back with the blood pressure cuff, the meaning I’d inferred was confirmed.

It took even less time to infer that un piquete was a needle prick, and un piquetito was a needle prick that hurt way more.

These are words I suspect I’ll never forget.

The takeaway I want to share: always learn new words in context.

The more visceral you can make it for yourself, the more memorable it’ll be.

Lesson #3: The more you speak about something in Spanish, the better you get

Anyone who’s had the misfortune of spending time in the hospital can attest: you answer the same questions a lot.

I explained my symptoms and suspected culprits to at least 5 nurses and 3 doctors.

At first, my explanations were rocky as I dug through my memory for buried medical vocab.

By the end, I was like a guest on a late night show with how polished my story was.

This is something I’ve experienced over and over.

Too often, learners move on to new topics like a teenager on TikTok (RIP?).

My suggestion: try speaking about the same thing more than once, or at least sticking to the same theme.

You’ll get more and more articulate and fluid as you go.

As it turns out, the hospital is a surprisingly good place to get speaking practice.

But as effective as it was for me, there are cheaper, less painful ways I’d suggest trying before heading to an ER south of the border.

One such way is the 30 Day Speaking Challenge, which opens again this Monday.

We’ll spend 30 days “traveling” virtually through Peru.

You’ll listen and speak every day…

And build habits that bring your skills together and make them practical.

No piquetes, sueros, or intoxicación alimentaria involved.

If you’re interested, here’s the info page:

https://breakthroughspanish.com/speak

It’ll be open for enrollment starting this Monday Jan 27, and we’ll all start together on Monday, Feb 3.

That’s all for today.

Un saludo,

Connor

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Hey there, I'm Connor. I help motivated learners speak Spanish without slogging through grammar books or tapping through every new app. I started Breakthrough Spanish to give more people the confidence and focus to learn effectively Spanish from home. Learn more about me here.

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