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Old April 28, 2014, 08:02 PM
Glen Glen is offline
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Join Date: Sep 2011
Location: USA
Posts: 718
Native Language: English
Glen is on a distinguished road
A lot depends on what you want, mrbluestreak. You said gain some level of fluency, and that's entirely possible to do before the trip. You might want to concentrate first on basic things such as how to ask questions, etc.
One strategy that served me well the first time I went to meet my in-laws who speak only Spanish was to bone up ahead of time on some short, commonly-understood sayings; one of many that I chose to zero in on, for example, No hay pinacate que suba media pared [a beetle can't even climb halfway up a wall], was a humble way of admitting that I didn't know much - and brought a smile to their faces. Going beyond just memorizing it by rote, I studied each of those 7 words, their definitions and the grammatical structure of the saying itself, which opened doors to the wider world of making sentences.
Just an idea. If it appeals to you, browse our collection of more than 8,000 Idioms, half of them Spanish and the other half English, to find some you might want to study and use on the trip.
Plus, feel free to ask any questions - we're all learners here!
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