The first thing I discovered upon my arrival in Caracas was that I remembered much less Spanish than I thought I did. As it had been over five years since I had taken a Spanish course I guess I really shouldnt have been surprised right? Who can really expect to remember much from a high school course that was mediocre at best? As I tried desperately to order a simple sandwich and something to drink, I realized that if I didnt at least attempt to learn Spanish I would most likely starve after a week or so.
How exactly does one go about learning Spanish in a Latin American country? Seems pretty easy right? Well I assure you it is not, especially when your entire day is spent speaking English. Another obstacle that I quickly encountered was the very rapid way in which everyone speaks in this city. It is amazing how a sentence containing 10 words or so can come out sounding almost like one long word. Is that what English sounds like to people who dont speak English? It is exceedingly difficult to learn words in another language when you are unable to decipher exactly where one word ends and another begins. This process is made even harder by the fact that most...