Bilingual on a Budget

By – Mary

Laid off? No worries, could be so much worse. Remember, we do live in one of the best places on earth. Weotta take advantage of our newfound time! Once you file for unemployment, it’s time to put those New Year’s resolutions into action, time to reinvent yourself! Weotta… …Learn a new language. Unless you’ve been living in a cave, you’ve probably realized the wave of the future is not America-centric. What better way to expand your mind, as well as your resume, than to learn another tongue.

Spanish opens up your job prospects to not only the USA but to 15+ other countries in Europe, Central, and South America… a big bonus is that most of them have gorgeous weather, and are within spitting distance to a gorgeous white sand beach. For the perizosas a.k.a. sloths among us, Spanish podcasts are free and abundant. By far, the best and mas rapido way to learn a new language is to be surrounded with native speakers. If you’re not bringing in a paycheck, chances are you’ll be eating lots of burritos, so what better way to practicar tu espanol than in the Mission or Excelsior districts. And if you don’t think you can swing the new direct AeroMexico route from SFO to Mexico City, take the Dublin/Pleasanton BART to the Fruitvale station and stroll along International Boulevard, where taco trucks abound. Government money not enough for you to live on? Join the ranks waiting tables. Most kitchens in America are filled with Spanish speakers… not only can you practice your new love of Spanish with the line cooks and dishwashers but you can earn a few pennies along the way.

Subsisting in San Francisco grants access to the best Asian cuisine in the USA as well as exposure to plentiful Mandarin speakers. Why wouldn’t you want to be able to communicate with the world’s next big superpower? City College of San Francisco holds cheap language class or try the well-recommended Chinese Cultural Center. Jonesing for an adventure? Take BART over to authentic (and way less touristy) Oakland Chinatown midday where you can sit elbow to elbow and drink cha at Legendary Palace, or the hole in the wall Yo-Ho’s, for a bona fide dim sum experience for around $5/person (possibly even less if you share with your other unemployed friends). Can’t move off the couch? Devote an hour a day to podcasts – ChinesePod is free and is a good place to start.

Eager to speak a different tongue and bored of the non-stop SF rain? If you have the smallest reserve of cash and a sublet for your room, the world is on sale – flights haven’t been this cheap since post-9/11. For the Spanish entrepreneur, Cancun, Cabo, even Costa Rica are hovering around $300 or under. For Chinese, head to Beijing, Shanghai, or Taipei for around $700. SFO has endless flights to Asia and plenty of demand – Chinese New Year just finished; it really is the time for a deal! And the exchange rate isn’t too shabby either.

On the flip side, there are billions of people on this planet who want to learn English. Astoundingly, many of them desire the “American” accent, because it’s totally way more hella cool than that proper British tongue yo. Teaching certification is often not necessary. Check out Dave’s ESL Café for hundreds of jobs. Often the organization will cover the cost of an overseas flight and work visa.

Weotta learn something new!