This is Clare’s story living and learning Spanish in Cusco.
I started my year abroad in Peru knowing three spanish phrases, “El baño?” “no habla espanol” and “gracias”. In hindsight, I now know why nobody understood me- I was saying the first two wrong! Thanks to Google Translate and lots of guessing, I made my way through my first few days in Lima. The next three days were spent taking Peru Hop buses from Lima along the coast, finally arriving in Cusco.
In this article, Laura Graichen shares her experience learning Spanish with Proyecto Peru.
Five years ago, I came to South America with zero knowledge of the Spanish language. I thought that I would be able to get by with just some hand signals and a few rords, but nothing could have been further from the truth. Some basic knowledge of Spanish is actually indispensable as it makes traveling a lot easier. In addition, it is a much nicer travelling experience if you can chat a little with the locals. You immediately get a lot of respect if they only see that you are trying!