All,
I am excited about my summer 2008 holiday. This will mark my first trip to Spain, but not my first trip to Europe. Plasencia, Extremadura is the destination with plans to see Madrid and possibly Granada to visit La Alhambra, if time permits. Plasencia is my father-in-law's hometown. My stint in the military and time living in Washington D.C. provided exposure to Spanish, and I speak French (comme une vache americaine) which has accelerated my Spanish learning; I've studied Spanish for about two years, from time to time.
I've recommenced my studying by performing daily exercises in a workbook (Spanish Made Simple), reading a novel in Spanish (La Alquimista by Paulo Coelho), and listening to two hours of Spanish radio commuting to and from work, making it tough not to dance the merengue or salsa, something I'm sure the other drivers are thankful for. I am lucky enough to have a friend from Ecuador who is unremitting in speaking the language to me, being really patient and doing a great job of explaining things. Since he doesn't speak English well, he instructs in Spanish trying many explanations until I understand. Somehow, it works! My goal is to effectively communicate in Spain without having to resort to English.
What I am really looking forward to is living amonst the Spanish. Naturally, since we'll be with my wife's family, I'll be staying with locals and not in hotels, except when going to Madrid or Granada. I've heard so much about Spanish cuisine that I can hardly wait to eat the real thing. Once on a travel show about Spain, I saw this tiny pig cooked in a wood burning stove and it looked delicious. I've had paella (my only Spanish dish), mmmMMMMMM!
Anyway, I've come to the point of this thread, do you fellows know of any Spanish message boards where one can learn/ practice Spanish? Have any of you been to Spain or live/ed in Spain and can you share your experience? If there are any Spaniards here, I'd love to hear about your country.
