Ed S When you actually get to go to Spain to perfect your Spanish, a good idea is to enroll in a school which teaches Spanish as well as English. That way you'll get to meet some Spaniards. The school in which I enrolled although absolutely professional and wonderful, I met only Americans and British and English speakers... I wanted to meet Spaniards.

When I first went to Spain as a college student (having learned high school and college Spanish from Latin Americans), my mother gave me a good bit of advice. I was homesick and miserable because I couldn't talk to anyone, and she called one evening and told me to go have a beer and meet a nice Spanish boy. Sure enough, a few weeks later I was dreaming in Spanish and turning every "z" into a "th." When I came home at the end of the summer, I had almost forgotten how to speak English.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that the best way to learn to communicate in Spanish (or any language, for that matter) is to drop your guard a bit (hence, the beer advice) and spend time with native speakers. As much time as possible!! And if a lovely summer romance blossoms, all the better, right? (Sadly, I lost touch with Arturo--but he and his friends taught me an awful lot!)

Tara