I took a weekend Spanish class a few weeks ago in Ensenada. I thought it was about time and I was pleasantly surprised that some of my Latin from high school days helped out. The structure and genders are similar. But at first it's a lot to take in and it can be confusing. But I believe everyone should push themselves to learn new things, especially when it involves a culture that is foreign to you.
Now I'm in San Migeul de Allende, and after a wild long weekend that included dancing until dawn, meeting some German, Israeli, British, Canadian and Mexican people, and ending up with a big Super Bowl party at a popular local gringo's palatial home. It was tons of American food, some frijoles, beer, booze and big screen football: Fun, fun, fun!
But today I started a new Spanish class. Not only do I want to learn to communicate with Spanish speakers, but also I want to stimulate the verbal part of my brain.
One thing you soon realize when you start to take a foreign language is that some things just don't translate exactly: they have a meaning unique to that language.
So I think it's good to learn other languages, a writer might find a new word that is just perfect for a particular passage.
