Buenos Dias Amigos,
I'm learning Spanish because I want to know what the people in the Mexican restaurants are saying about me.
Maybe I should go back to work instead?

Hola Don, ¿cómo estás?
Or you could take a trip to sunny Spain and entertain while practice the spanish language.

Work is a four letter word!

Gary (The retired one.)

The only phrase I know is "Donde esta el bano? ha ha Sometimes that phrase comes in handy especially when you've been drinking a lot of fluids.

Que bueno mi amigo. Me da mucho gusto.

I took Spanish throughout college which helped a lot with the grammar and writing but I really gained fluency when I started playing in a norteña band in all the cantinas on the north side of Fortworth, Texas. After that I played drums on a cruise ship that sailed from Los Angeles, CA down to Baja California. Also I got to work with a salsa band in Los Angeles at a night club called "Caché" Most the guys in that band were Cuban and Puerto Rican which got me more exposed to the Caribbean style Spanish. Eventually I took a 3 month Spanish course in Cuernavaca, Mexico where I lived with a family. It is there I met my wife of 22 years, and it has been
a continuous Spanish lesson everyday since!

I too only know one phrase,'EL TORO POO POO', which pretty much describes most of Donny's posts speculating on new unannounced arranger keyboards .

chas

I have a Puerto Rican sister in law, whom I have known long before she married my brother. I had to learn Spanish when I was around her family, otherwise I wouldn't have known if they were talking bad about me or not. Also learned a fair amount while in the US Navy and stationed in the Mediterranean Sea area, stopping in many Spanish ports of call. Learned there were dozens of different dialects, and some folks in the same country had trouble understanding those in other areas of the same country.

Now that my sister in law has long since moved to Florida, I rarely get to Speak or hear Spanish, therefore, I have lost a lot of my old ability to utilize the language. Still recall how to find the local bars and how to order a beer. Also still sing a few songs in Spanish, but mostly by phonetics - same as the songs I sing in Italian. It's a sad thing when the mind goes, and Carol told me it was the second thing to go - I don't remember what the first was.

All the best, Don,

Gary

Hola Jonny, muy bein, gracias! I would love a trip to Spain! My son played professional basketball over there for several years, so he is fluent in Spanish.

El trabajo es una palabra sucia. That means work is a dirty word. Or at least I think that what it means.

It gives me great pleasure too Paul!
I didn't take Spanish in high school or college, but I wish I had. We had dinner at a Mexican restaurant this evening and the receptionist asked "how many". I said, "Cinco, por favor." And she looked at me like I was from another planet and said, "Huh?" Evidently she was English.