Finding the Hispanic Population in Your Area

Check your local stores for Spanish movies, CDs, books, etc. If there is a good selection, chances are there is a heavy demand for those products. If you get lucky, maybe you will even run into people speaking Spanish while you are browsing.

Last, I suggest you ask your local colleges or universities. In our area, we have two community colleges and a university within a short driving distance. Universities especially are a good place to find students from all over the world. Most colleges and universities have clubs dedicated to language learners, and many of these are open to the public. Find out how to get involved, and if there isn't an organization already in place, maybe you could help start one.

Yet another option is to use the Internet. There are chat rooms dedicated to Spanish chat, Spanish learning chat, etc. Just use your favorite chat utility and search. Also, be sure to look at the discussion boards here at Suite 101 Spanish topic. And, feel free to e-mail me. I'm always glad to hear from other people interested in the Spanish languages. (Unfortunately, my computer has been down for some time so I've been slow at answering lately. Hopefully, I've got everything fixed now!)

Okay, so now you've found some Hispanic people. What should you do now? Well, use your best people skills and don't just try to find someone to use as your guinea pig to practice Spanish. Be friendly...or in other words, don't just look for someone to practice Spanish with, look for a friend. Remember, just like in any culture there are all kinds of people. You may run into some people who would rather speak to you in English, you may run into some people who just are too shy to start a conversation, or you may find a best friend. What a great way to break across language and culture barriers by extending a hand in friendship!

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