Chao!

Neat post and I especially like how you’ve prepared the video showcasing your journey.

Having the ability and more importantly perhaps, the interest, to learn a language other than one’s native tongue a noble aspiration and well worth pursuing. An excellent life skill.

I thought you might like to know of some additional language learning / hacking sources I’ve spotted during my travels which may be of interest…

~~ Instant Spanish Vocabulary Builder ~~
Dr Tom Means, founder of new York based Means Language Centre, is the author of ‘Instant Spanish Vocabulary Builder’, a vocabulary builder book & CD.

The book contains a chapter per each of the 24 language patterns based on word-endings (suffixes). On the accompanying CD he pronounces several of these words within each chapter. Upload to your portable media player to optimise learning on-the-go. The beauty of grasping these 24 patterns is that you then, by extension, gain access to about 4,000 new words, all based upon the suffix patterns.

http://www.meanslanguagecenter.com/books.htm

~~ Ecuador Spanish (Accelerated) Course
Gary A Scott, a global citizen living and investing throughout the world for years. He is based in Ecuador and North Carolina. His wife, Merri, hosts small 5-day accelerated learning Spanish language workshops. Perhaps worth checking out as you make your way north en route to the USA.

http://www.garyascott.com/catalog/ecuador-spanish-course

~~ 4HWW How to Learn a Language in 3 Months ~~
I recall Timothy Ferris liking Michel Thomas’s works too. You may likely already have seen his blog post, How to learn any language in 3 months. In it he describes the three key elements for language learning, namely, effectiveness (priority), adherence (interest) and efficiency (process).

http://www.fourhourworkweek.com/blog/2009/01/20/learning-language/#more-1077

And in the spirit of Pareto’s 80/20 principle, he also lists the 100 most common spoken and written words in English, of which there is naturally some overlap. Resolve to absolutely know their Spanish equivalents, combined with the above suffix pattern approaches, and you’re Spanish learning adventure progresses in style!

~~ The Irish Polygot – Fluent in 3 Months ~~
And for something altogether different, how about a language learner on steroids?! Well then, you’ll enjoy reading the blog of Benny (Brendan) Lewis, the Irish polyglot. A fellow lifestyle designer – living the dream – who travels the world, dropping into his target language country for three months language immersion learning. You’ll find gems of insights on his blog.

http://www.fluentin3months.com/

Buena suerte con su aventura española de aprendizaje!

Gary