The Marion daily mirror. (Marion, Ohio) 1892-1912, 1909-01-26
THE TOURIST IN MEXICO.
samples Of Spanish as She is spokS
by Some Americans.


'Its no wonder that men who go
from the states down to Mexico OIL
business do not get along better"
said a returned New Yorker. They
don't study Spanish as they should.
In the clubs half of the stock stories
are about these half educated Ameri-
cans.
ut was in a restaurant where only
Spanish is spoken that a party OF
American tourists assembled. There
were a woman and her two daughters
and of course the attendant and pa
tient papa with the wad.
LET me order. said the mater. I
want to use my Spanish and she pro-
ceeded to pull out handy book Of
conversation. Let me see, scanning
the meanu, we want oysters, I'm
cure. A small fry for, each would be
Just the thing.
Running her fingers through the
leaves she found that 'chiquita means
small and 'frita' means Try. Per-
fectly simple. 'Chiquta fritas' would
mean small fries She held up her
fingers to indicate four and said COM
placently to the expectant and polite
waiter:
The walters eyes bulged out and his
Latin politeness got shock oh, no,
Sonora he cried as he backed away,
no chiquitas fritas!'
why not, returned the patron,
don't you have 'em? For in her sur
prise she had fallen back on. her YER
nacular. Then she remembered her
role and consulted her book.
! Nothing doing No end of gesticu-
lations on the part of the waiter.
! "'Nice country where one can't get
fried oysters, piped the woman and
she added L wonder why?'
You can get 'em, ma'am said a
mans raucous voice at an adjoining
table. He continued: You ordered
fried babies, and they don't serve EN-
in this part Of the republic. The word
"chiquitas" means babies term OF
endearment, but you're all o. X. as
to the frttas. II you had asked for
'ostras fritas," the order would have
, gone through all right
And she ordered 'em, though shs
looked daggers at the stranger, who
was New Yorker and had lived in
| Mexico for twenty years.
ut was the same sort of woman, Z"
continued the traveller. "who tried
to air her Spanish by asking the
amount of her bill after she had taxi
en- her dinner in a restaurant in
Mexico City. With bland smile she
addressed the head waiter with
Como mucho?' intending TO ask how
much?
Now, the word como not only
means how but also 4 eat so tha,
the woman had remarked TO the watt
er L eat a good deal This was as
much as to say that the dinner was so
good that she had eaten all or more
than she ought. In fact, IL was
compliment and such a compliment as
is highly appreciated in any Latin
country.
with a deep bow the servitor ex-
pressed his delight that his humble
viands should have found approba-
tion in the sight OF the most excel snt
Sonora, It was expressed in he
choice phrases that so readily lend
themselves on such occasion through
the Castilian tongue
But my lady didn't understand
word of the lingo. She meant busi-
ness and she repeated in a louder
tone Como mucho? Como mucho?
She was sure of her correct Spanish,
but somehow she couldn't get the
waiter to do anything but bow and
Scrape.
THE puzzle was solved when the
proprietor, hearing the excited voices,
entered aud learned that the lady
merely wanted to pay her bill. Had
she known that not Como mucho?'
but Que es la quenta" (What is the
aecountO is the correct expt ession
she would have been saved trouble
and modification.
Time and again United States Con-
snls have set forth in federal pubh-
cations the advantages OF real
knowledge of Spanish 10 the business
man. The need Is growing more
emphatic with every day. as our re-
lations in trade are growing with
Mexico daily But guess that fed
eral publications don't hit the people
ct large as a rule.
zone Of the easiCG, vas 20 learn \