Surviving Mexico City With Basic Spanish

High-school Spanish goes further in Mexico City than you'd think — as long as you get the tone right. Mexican Spanish leans warm and polite: open with 'buenos días' or 'buenas tardes' every time you enter a shop or taxi, and use 'usted' unless the other person switches to 'tú' first.

The phrases that saved me every single day: 'La cuenta, por favor,' 'Sin picante,' 'Cuánto cuesta,' and 'Me lo llevo.' Combine those with Google Translate for anything complex and you're fine for a week.