>>I do not know whether knowing French is very useful in the US
>>
>>And should you decide to go for a private teacher, make it a she-teacher - you'll find it more enjoyable
>
>As far as useful, even though Spanish is supposed to be useful, after studying it for about 20 year and being fairly fluent I have yet to find that it helped me in any real life situation. I usually study languages for a pure self-satisfaction. Last night we (my wife and I) were watching the movie De Vinci Code on TV. And whenever they would talk in French I tried to listen very attentively. And even after only a few weeks of listening to some basic French tapes I was able to catch some words and understand them. Made me feel very good. I can't say the same about the movie. I never liked the book and I didn't finish watching the movie as I found it (both book and the movie) boring.
>
>I do agree that having a "she" teacher adds to the focus of the lessons <g>.

Found one for your Spanish lessons - listen carefully to the Spanish 's'

http://video.on.nytimes.com/?fr_story=5cfdcbbeb48f8d16f18bc80eb993159cb0d57d5e&scp=2&sq=penelope&st=cse