The quest to become conversant in Spanish (I won’t be so bold as to say fluent) has been a uneven one.

It started with practicing Spanish on Duolingo. I began over five years ago when our retirement plans were just starting to take shape. We didn’t know when we’d retire, nor where we would retire, but we were pretty sure Spanish would be the language. So I started Duolingo. Five years and a 1,948 day streak later, I’m still practicing with Duolingo for about 10-15 minutes a day.

It’s given me the opportunity to get a pretty basic level of Spanish. We traveled to Panamà a few times before moving, and I’d say that after each trip, my conversational skills had a step change improvement. You can practice Duolingo all you want, but there’s no substitute for getting real world practice.

Now that we’re here, there have been several step change improvements. I’ve conversed with the vet about our JRT’s health (and our doxie’s health). In Panamà, to change utilities you have to meet with the last person who had the account for your residence (or their representative) at the utility office. The electricity account number for where you live stays the same, the person responsible for paying is what changes. For this experience, I met with a woman who was representing the former tenants. She spoke no English, so we had to rely on my Spanish. One of the first things I said is that I know some Spanish, but that Panamanians speak very quickly. She agreed, and said that people in Panamà spoke much faster than in other countries, and she would speak slowly for me. That lasted about three minutes. Fortunately my hearing comprehension was improving, so I could catch most of what she was saying. We learned that we both had dogs, so we bonded over sharing pictures of our dogs in funny outfits. I felt so accomplished after that!

Further complicating things is my upbringing. I grew up in Canada, where all children study French. I had 12 years of French classes, and evidently some of that stuck. With Spanish and French being romance languages, there are many words that are similar (and many that are not!). My problem is becoming that when I’m trying to speak Spanish and I don’t know the word in Spanish, but I do know the word in French, the French words come out. So my sentences end up being a very odd Spanish/French/English hybrid (Franglish?) which nobody understands. (Well, except the owner of one of our favourite restaurants who speaks all three, and seems quite impressed I can mangle three languages in a single sentence.)

Another complication is that the more comfortable I get with Spanish, the more Panamanians are comfortable telling me they are learning English and want to practice with me. There have been several times when I have walked into a situation armed with the key phrases of what I want to convey. I’ve learned the words. I’ve double checked the verb tenses. I’ve practiced the sentences. Then when we get there, the response is: “You speak English? I can practice my English with you!”.

I have found, though, that once Panamanians learn that you are sincerely trying to learn Spanish, it’s like a whole different level gets unlocked. Panamanians are warm and friendly people, and those qualities get a boost when you genuinely try to speak Spanish. Not “hablo un poco”. But if I say “Estoy aprendiendo español, pero no sé muchas palabras” (I am learning Spanish, but I don’t know many words), I get huge smiles.

That’s where the Uber drivers come in.

We take Ubers several times a week. For many trips around the city, it is much more efficient to take an Uber than to try to drive (lack of parking, rush hour traffic, it’s too hot to walk, the list goes on). Some Uber drivers – not all of them, but a considerable portion – upon hearing my rudimentary Spanish, become my tutors.

The most recent example was Max. He asked where we were from – I said that we were from the U.S., but living in Panamà now (Estados Unidos, pero vivimos aqui ahora). I also mentioned that I was learning, and I found people here spoke very fast for me (estoy aprendiendo, y la gente aqui habla muy rapido para mi). So he spent the rest of the Uber ride speaking to me in Spanish, but he spoke slowly so I could catch everything and respond. I learned about his relatives in Michigan and Manhattan, and we told him about our upcoming trips and our grandchildren. When I said something in English, he would wag his finger at me and tell me the Spanish word. Smiles all around when he dropped us off.

A Spanish lesson, and an Uber ride for $3? Not a bad deal.

(Note: the picture is not of Max. It’s an Uber ride we took some weeks ago. It’s notable because, as you can see, the driver has not one, not two, but three cellphones at his disposal, and one is dedicated to livestreaming the Panamà-England World Cup match. That Uber driver was not one of my tutors.)