>>>>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>.
>>
>>All it's really done for me is to allow me to understand conversations going on around me. We have a very large Spanish speaking population here. Yesterday I overheard a man berating his wife for wanting to waste money on hair products at CVS. The discussion turned to his silly need to buy things men buy. I started giggling, I couldn't help it. They heard me and realized I understood their discussion and smiled and she made a comment that all women agree... etc. Normally, I don't let on I understand. Most don't expect it. Once, at the gas station, I was waiting in line and there were a few men behind me getting snacks. They were discussing nothing in particular until one made a comment about me. It was a rather lewd comment. I'm afraid I turned around and very loudly exclaimed: 'vete a la verga' (wonder if that will make it pass the moral police). The man who made the comment was shocked but the other fellas laughed at him. No one said another word, but I'm sure as
>>soon as I walked out there were a lot of comments.
>
>Well, I learned a new word in Spanish <g>; thank you. There is probably more spanish-speaking people in your state then in mine. And my experience with Spanish is pretty much the same as yours, understaning (not always 100%) of what people are talking around me. But I would love to be on the receiving end of some latin women making lewd remarks about me <g>.

Ha ha ha! :o) I learned a lot when I lived in Panama for a year. I was fortunate to spend time in some other Spanish speaking countries as well: Spain, Honduras, Costa Rica (my daughter has been there as well), El Salvador, Columbia, and a few more further south :o) The strangest thing was the Panamanians habit of using the word 'chuleta' for exclamation. I wonder if they still do that? I'll have to ask our fellow Panamanian here on the UT...