Although my primary language learning goals set me up to speak Latin American Spanish, and that's still the broad variety I speak, it's not really that different from continental Spanish. I'm talking about castellano (castilian). Sure, there are a bunch of words and phrases that are different, and the pronunciation and grammar can vary, but I've never had trouble speaking to people in Spain, and I've even used it in other countries, specifically in Germany, when I didn't speak the local language.

Spanish is a wonderful language for a musician to learn; it's like music in its own right, and it's a real pleasure to speak. Naturally, as you progress with a language, you start to watch films, listen to music, read articles and so on, which exposes you, not only to the language and its colloquialisms, but also to the culture. And eventually, to the food. :)

Although I do love other languages, Spanish is the one that makes me smile from ear to ear, and the one I fell in love with, immediately, during my first lessons in school (our language lessons were terribly sporadic, so it doesn't even count).

Speaking Spanish made living in Spain easy, even though I was as rusty, back then (like Burt's exhaust pipe is now). Being exposed to the environment, hearing and seeing the words all day, every day, elevated my learning massively, and after a couple of weeks, I was speaking at normal speed and able to understand Catalan and a few other regional languages fairly well (in a passive sense), as well. I can't tell you how much it helps to live in the country, because it's so much, you wouldn't believe me.

Another great bonus with Spanish is its relative similarities to Italian and, to a lesser degree, Portuguese. I have been able to communicate effectively with Italian speakers on a number of occasions, including recently, in a Czech hardware store. And while Portuguese doesn't really sound much like Spanish, it's still fairly easy to read, which I believe will make learning Portuguese much easier, should I ever have the time to do it.

Spanish is a hugely popular language and if you want to try a new language, this is the one I can't push enough. It's fairly easy to get to grips with and it's beautiful.

As I grow this section, I will share some of the other learning resources I've relied on and stories from my adventures.

With 486 million speakers, foreign language #1 is Spanish.

Stay tuned!