When in Rome, speak as the Romans do.

Alright, obviously, someone who has never learned or spoken Spanish won’t just wake up one day fluent in it. Well, unless you hit your head a certain way… but that’s not what we are talking about here. Even though the average person can’t pick up languages like sticks in that old nursery rhyme, it’s still good to know a bit of the local tongue if you are going to a predominantly non-[your language]-speaking country. For example, an English speaker travelling to Spain or any other Spanish-speaking country may be tempted to not learn Spanish, and instead rely on their status as a lingua franca in the world.

Of course, this will work-- to a certain point. Some taxi drivers and many tourist sites know enough English for you to get to your destination without too much confusion. There are plenty of eating options targeted towards tourists in tourist- heavy areas, many with English menus or English-speaking staff. But you will be hard-pressed to find a true cultural experience.

Some tourists go abroad and don’t look for the cultural experience. They want to see the beautiful attractions, curated sites, maybe shop a bit, and eat some food. I get that. It’s fun. But I much prefer getting a chance to do as the locals do. Even if you have just a bit of Spanish knowledge, it will be much more interesting for you in Spain than if you knew nothing. You can interact with the locals, read the signs, see what they target to their own people. I once struck up a conversation with a taxi driver as we rolled along the streets of Barcelona. Although half of what he said completely flew over my head, it was still a great experience to speak to him. It opened him up, and made him more comfortable and friendly, less like a distant ‘other’ who was just driving you because that was his job and you were paying him. Why not make it fun for both parties, right?

It becomes much more exciting to be in a foreign land when you know a bit of the language, because every moment is like a puzzle- a mystery to be solved. You have to use your tiny reservoir to make sense of an ocean of information. Impossible? Maybe... Rewarding? Definitely.