Citing a desire to appear more “cosmopolitan” and “make connections with the locals,” local father Jeff Green attempted to employ his best Spanish accent while on a trip to Cancun, Mexico last month.
“It’s important to brush up on the local language before traveling somewhere to make sure things go smoothly and to respect the local culture,” said Green, who so much as added an “o” to the end of the word “hotel” while talking to other travelers on the shuttle from the airport.
“I watched a few hours of Telemundo last week and dusted off my old Spanish textbooks,” said Green.
“The key is to make sure people don’t automatically think you’re American or they’ll treat you worse,” said Green of the Mexican employees at his resort, who reportedly indeed knew Green was American after he referred to his wallet as a “walleta.”
Despite his best efforts to “buddy up with the local guys,” Green’s family reported that his accent was at the very least “unnecessary.”
“There’s really no need for him to do this,” wife Mary Green told reporters. “I feel like being a tourist spot, most of these people are fluent English speakers. Just the other day [Green] was buying drinks at the bar and he said ‘dos’ while holding up two fingers, as if the menu wasn’t written in English.”
“I ordered a burrito at dinner the other night and dad told me in front of the waitress that I needed to roll my ‘r’s’,” said daughter Maggie Green. “Like the waitress couldn’t hear us having that entire conversation.”
Green also reportedly reminded his children to say “no gracias” instead of “no thank you” if anyone asked
