[Charlie Foxtrot]

This is both my first real post here, and a question/thought that has been bothering me for the last few weeks.
But let's start with a little bit of back story. I am traveling in south America right now and am loving every minute of it, except for the lack of Spanish that I possess. And how that small, in my opinion, flaw makes game here much harder for me.
I'm from the States, and while home I have reasonable success with my game. But it has come to my attention, in the worst way possible that all or most of that game comes from the spoken word. I have very little AA, and no difficulty approaching girls. But here I can't use what I'm good at, talking, and now all of my game has been directed at other foreigners, mostly Americans and Brits.

So now for the real question, how do I improve my physical game in a country I have a hard job making myself understood? I have decided that while I never really noticed back home, but I seem to have a fairly weak physical game.
Criticism, comments and/or advice welcomed.
P.S. I am slowly learning Spanish.
~CF

[Tigre]

Most hostel guys get around like hobos and need to improve their physical presentation. This is key in Latin America, where social class is everything.

Your typical hostel guy makeover would be:
1) Manicure and pedicure ASAP.
2) Don't try and dress like a favela kid thinking you'll blend in more. Look at the way middle class and upper class Latinos dress, and take some cues from that.
3) You packed flip flops? Great, they are fine for showering, chilling in the hostel and nothing more. Put some proper shoes on (not white sneakers, or you look like an overgrown schoolkid).
4) If you're wearing any clothes that have been washed to an inch of their life, discard them and buy some new stuff locally.

Latin girls take personal hygiene seriously. Yes, the physical environment of these countries is sometimes filthy, but that just makes them more concerned about bodily hygiene. She wants to know that if you touch her with those hands, they are clean.

CF, all the above is general, maybe none of it applies to you personally. But I'm sure light bulbs are going to go off in the heads of some guys reading this.

To switch over to the subject of languages. In some countries, it will be your biggest single determinant of success.
Geek that speaks Spanish? Ladies man.
Alpha that speaks nothing but English? Frustrated.

I've seen it. Even within a group of guys where the respect hierarchy among the group is clearly visible to the girls, only the guys speaking Spanish are going to make any progress.

Countries where Spanish is more important: Colombia, Argentina
Spanish less important: Peru, Ecuador

Being gringo is still DHV in most of Latin America, and you'll get a free pass for many strange behaviors and quirks. Once you get the language sorted out, and some of the cultural know how, you'll be punching above your weight.

[Charlie Foxtrot]

(02-06-2012 02:16 PM)Tigre Wrote:  

Most hostel guys get around like hobos and need to improve their physical presentation. This is key in Latin America, where social class is everything.

Your typical hostel guy makeover would be:
1) Manicure and pedicure ASAP. I think I got this one on lockdown, though I smoke I brush my teeth all the time and keep the nails short
2) Don't try and dress like a favela kid thinking you'll blend in more. Look at the way middle class and upper class Latinos dress, and take some cues from that. Yeah I think my clothes are so so. Not great but I prefer aero and a&f to hippie clothes so that gives me a bit of style. I am going to bump up the wardrobe soon thought
3) You packed flip flops? Yeah... Great, they are fine for showering, chilling in the hostel and nothing more. Put some proper shoes on (not white sneakers, or you look like an overgrown schoolkid).I'm on it, I will find some real kicks, they make great handcrafted leather shoes here.
4) If you're wearing any clothes that have been washed to an inch of their life, discard them and buy some new stuff locally.Yeah see above, but I'm on it

Latin girls take personal hygiene seriously. Yes, the physical environment of these countries is sometimes filthy, but that just makes them more concerned about bodily hygiene. She wants to know that if you touch her with those hands, they are clean.

CF, all the above is general, maybe none of it applies to you personally. But I'm sure light bulbs are going to go off in the heads of some guys reading this.

To switch over to the subject of languages. In some countries, it will be your biggest single determinant of success.
Geek that speaks Spanish? Ladies man.
Alpha that speaks nothing but English? Frustrated.

I've seen it. Even within a group of guys where the respect hierarchy among the group is clearly visible to the girls, only the guys speaking Spanish are going to make any progress.

Countries where Spanish is more important: Colombia, Argentina
Spanish less important: Peru, Ecuador

Being gringo is still DHV in most of Latin America, and you'll get a free pass for many strange behaviors and quirks. Once you get the language sorted out, and some of the cultural know how, you'll be punching above your weight.

I guess it's a good thing I'm here and not in Columbia. I am or was looking at going there, but I guess I will have to move that trip to next winter.
I have seen the effects of the language barrier and know that when I FINALLY gets the language down I should be doing way better, but yeah I'm one frustrated f-ing alpha. There are guys here with no game and semi fluent that seem to be doing great but I guess you already know that.
And I do appreciate you taking time out of your day to answer a newb here, but it still leaves my main question unanswered.
How does one pull game without talking much?

[Tigre]

(02-06-2012 02:34 PM)Charlie Foxtrot Wrote:  

I guess it's a good thing I'm here and not in Columbia. I am or was looking at going there, but I guess I will have to move that trip to next winter.
I have seen the effects of the language barrier and know that when I FINALLY gets the language down I should be doing way better, but yeah I'm one frustrated f-ing alpha. There are guys here with no game and semi fluent that seem to be doing great but I guess you already know that.
And I do appreciate you taking time out of your day to answer a newb here, but it still leaves my main question unanswered.
How does one pull game without talking much?

No need to discard Colombia just on my word. You will surely be hanging out with travelers who are making their way overland heading south. Take the time to ask them in detail what their experiences were.

For someone not speaking Spanish, you could try any of these ideas:

Seek out girls who are preselected to know English. This could be through couchsurfing.org, online chat, or meet them hanging out in certain places (bars in the tourist zone).

If a traveling friend has already scored a gringo groupie chick, don't hit on your friend's chick, but ask her to invite a selection of female friends to meet up with you. This is hit and miss, but can be worth it for the times you do hit. Keep the meeting casual and investment low so you can ditch quickly if there is no chemistry.

Double date is also a good option, if you know a dude that can speak Spanish well. He can translate for you with your girl when you really need to be understood, and the girls can talk between themselves from time to time, so energy never flags.

Game at night in the club using mainly music and booze. Look for a place with electronica, rock or whatever suits your style. If the place is playing Latin music, you're at a disadvantage until you learn the local rhythms. There will probably be a place in town that has a regular crowd of gringos and girls that like gringos. Guys with blond hair and blue eyes are at the top of the food chain in these places.

Show her your photos. You can have photos of your travels, plus stuff from your life back home (family, pets, friends, favorite places). This is visual, so you can talk less. You can do this using your phone, or have her come back to your place. Get her to show you her photos, too. You can also transition this into you directing her in a photo shoot.

Play a simple game with her (kids games). This is for when you've already established vibe and you're in a relaxed venue, like poolside in the afternoon drinking beers. I'm thinking back to one time I had this girl playing thumb wrestling. Teaching her all these stupid protocols the thumbs do before you begin, like bow, shake hands and then tooling her in the actual contest. Easy to get her laughing out loud with this, and almost no talking required.

To return to a previous point, definitely get the manicure and pedicure. You're in Latin America, take advantage of the fact that services are beyond cheap. They will spend an hour on you, and you'll still get change from 10 bucks. Try new experiences, push beyond your comfort zone and just do this, trust me.

You shouldn't hesitate to actually learn Spanish. It will take a while before you reach the tipping point of being able to converse with someone and learn while speaking Spanish. The good thing is anyone can get there, it's just a question of time and concentration.

The other option is forget about gaming latinas and enjoy the hostel vibe for your entire trip. This is great fun in itself, non-stop entertainment and you'll have lifelong memories, sure. Just don't fool yourself that you really had a Latin American experience if you do this. Most backpackers just ride the bus from one city to the next, doing a few tourist activities in each and never really engaging in any intense way with the local scene. You could be doing this anywhere in the world and the only thing different is the color of the local currency and the flavor of cheap food, booze and drugs you're consuming that day.