I speak a little more Spanish than that – enough to find a bathroom, order some food, thank someone for a kindness – but not much.

I’ve learned that even that little bit or less of a foreign language makes a world of difference when traveling, though. Most people just like to know you’re trying, that you’re showing some basic respect for the fact that you’re the visitor, the stranger in what to them is NOT a strange land. Knowing how to stumble your way through the local equivalent of “Hello. How are you? I’m fine, thank you,” has brightened up many a face as I’ve traveled over the years.

Another good one to have is “Sorry, I only speak <insert language here> a little,” especially if you are blessed with an ability to pick up pronunciations quickly like I am. On a recent trip to the Dominican Republic, I regularly got in over my head regularly at restaurants just because I could say “Yo quiero el pollo, frijoles, y papas fritas por favor,” with a decent accent.

The only times I’ve been able to navigate a conversation in a foreign language beyond the very basics have been in French-speaking countries. My skills now are no where near where they were that first summer in Europe when I was still in high school, though, three years into the eventual six I studied the language.

<brag alert>
My vocabulary, grammar, and pronunciation was actually good enough that the French people with whom I interacted would occasionally help me with a word when I needed it and then go back to speaking French the rest of the conversation. They’re famous for refusing to speak French to Americans because we suck at it so badly.
</brag alert>

But that was a long time ago, and I don’t make it to places where they speak French very often.

For this soon-to-be digital nomad, however, learning how to cope in Spanish is a must. Unless/until I get a job working for a company whose working hours don’t fall between the east and west coasts of the U.S., then South and Central America are very likely where I’m going to do my exploring. So, I bought myself a monthly subscription to Pimsleur (yes, I get paid if you click that link and sign up for a paid subscription). Multiple people have suggested them to me, and they’ve scored very highly in some online review sites I’ve seen. Lesson one is in the bag, and I like the format they use. I also like the fact that I can study either through a web browser on my laptop or via their app, available on both Android and Apple phones for only $19.95 per month for one language. They also offer a 7-day free trial period.

I’ll provide more thoughts on their system once I get through at least the 30 lessons in Spanish 1.

Oh, and to show that I do sort of know what I’m talking about, lesson 1 included the phrase, “Hablo español un poco.” 🙂