Second languages

Taking a foreign language was a requisite when I went to high school. I grew up in a household where my mother frequently tossed out random German phrases she'd learned at home when she grew up, so I was always intrigued to communicate with someone “in code.” By that same token, DH gets unhappy when he hears people speaking another language for that same reason. His grandmother spoke to her friends in German, ostensibly so little ears wouldn't understand what she was saying.

I found I had a keen ear for language, which one of my foreign language teachers was eager to help me develop. I took four years of French, and in my senior year, decided to throw in some Spanish just for fun. My fourth-year French teacher was also a Spanish teacher, so she gave me a self-study to learn two years of Spanish in one (Thank you, Mrs. Ferguson). Here was the tricky part. I took a class trip to Mexico, but after four years of French, that came more naturally to me than the Spanish, so whenever I started to think in another language, out came the French. I DID learn the Spanish, as well, but after four years, we had to speak French in French class. After one year (compressed into two), the Spanish class hadn't evolved to that stage. As a result, I can read and to a certain degree speak in Spanish, but comprehending someone else speaking in Spanish? Ay Caramba!

I live in a fairly diverse area that caters to certain ethnicities. It isn't uncommon to go to the grocery store and hear people chattering in something other than English. My hair stylist speaks Spanish as her native tongue. I may have mentioned my trip to Spain? I'd like to be able to communicate more clearly, so I'm taking Spanish classes again. More accurately, a bi-lingual class. I was paired with a Spanish speaker who wants to learn English, and I'm very proud to say we were able to communicate somewhat, but I'm still missing vocabulary. The teacher is excellent, and she understands my goal, so she is working with me to help me. I'd also determined to watch telenovelas to see how much I could understand, something my hair stylist also recommended as a learning tool. Soap operas in Spanish - interesting, to say the least - and it is helping.

One of my favorite authors went on a crusade last year to learn Portuguese. She took to Twitter to find people to communicate with there, and it was interesting to see people interacting with her to help her on her journey. When I wrote my first book set in Italy, I endeavored to learn Italian. Funny story - when DH and I visited Italy, I tried to order gelato by the Trevi Fountain speaking Italian. The vendor wanted no part in my feeble attempts. He asked me - in English - impatiently - "What do you want?" I thought I did creditably well, but he apparently wanted no part of an uppity tourist trying to fit in. Or maybe he wanted to improve on his English (if I prefer to be charitable)? 

What language did you learn in high school? Are you intrigued by other languages or, like my DH, do you prefer to stick to your native tongue?