Reverting to Baby Talk

Because of my pitiful command of Spanish, I'm sure that I sound like a two-year-old when I try to communicate here in Mexico.  I'm unsure if a noun is masculine of feminine, I don't know when "tarde" (afternoon) ends and "noche" (night) begins - maybe sunset?  Sometimes, I'll prep for a question I need to ask at a hardware store by looking at Google Translate before I set out.  But, I do resort to a lot of shrugs, apologies, and finger pointing.  I try hard, and just as they would with a toddler, the kind local people humor me and help.



I've noticed that even when talking with my traveling companion (mi marido), we often revert to childish names and descriptions.  The grackles have become "noisy birds",  the succulent bushes on our windy beach are "the honey bush".  Even when I make the effort to learn the name, I'm sometimes stymied by a local.  When I asked a passing teen the name of a tree with stunning burgundy leaves and what looked like almonds,  he replied "árbol" = tree.  😏