I discovered this link for meeting with people in your area to converse in Spanish: __http://spanish.meetup.com/__ I haven't tried it yet, but it looks like a good way to make local contacts with Spanish-speaking individuals. Tony

Hello Tony, Thank's for the link, I've check it out and it does look very useful if you can join one of these groups. I would be interested to hear from anyone who has attended one of these meetings and how things went. Thanks Mauricio.

Hola a todos. I've attended a number of Spanish Meet-up meetings this year, and for the most part I've enjoyed them. The one I belong to is an "intercambio": it welcomes both people trying to learn Spanish and native Spanish speakers trying to improve their English. Sometimes, it's VERY useful to have native Spanish speakers present, though often I find it a bit discouraging as well, since I generally have a hard time understanding them. For some reason, they don't speak as slowly and clearly as Mauricio :D . One other problem I've had is that the group I belong to meets in a coffee shop that has music in the background and, at times, a fairly high noise level. I have no difficulty understanding what people say when they're speaking in English, but I need a much quieter environment when I'm trying to understand Spanish. Yes, I know, the real world isn't a quiet environment, but a quieter setting would really help many language learners. Still, on the whole, I've enjoyed these meetings and have found them somewhat helpful. I would definitely recommend that people try to find out whether there's a Spanish Meet-up near you. They exist all over the world, as you can see at the link Tony provided.

I have tried to sign up for a meetup in this area but so far there is no one close enough. I even put ads on some local bulletin boards to generate interest. I wonder though, I have taken the first 3 free lessons and now I have signed up for the official course and I wonder if I should wait until I know more before I try to start talking in Spanish. Right now it would be a rather short conversation. Hola como Estás. If they didn't come back with bien then I'd be dead. LOL. I think there was one in there about "I am learning". I think I'd better practice that one some more.

Yes, Bubba, I think you may want to practice a little more before going to a meeting. I am glad you posted this link, I've found a meetup group in London and will hopefully attend a meeting there after I finish work on Friday 9th April. Bueno! I am excited. :mrgreen:

Well I went to the meetup on Friday, and I cannot begin to explain how good it was. I went on my own to meet a large (183 people RSVP'd yes!) group of fellow Spanish speakers / learners, and had a fantastic time. Made some new friends and practiced Spanish, then had a bit of a party and tried some Salsa dancing as well. I cannot recommend this enough. Well worth a try!

I tried going to a Spanish meetup also. I highly recommend it. My Spanish is better than I thought--Rocket Spanish really made the difference. :D

I have gone to a Spanish meetup in Roseville, MN and it is good for me. I usually find someone to converse with and it's much easier talking with these Spanish learners than natives. Natives usually talk too fast for me, but other more advanced students do fine with them. It's not supposed to happen, but people do pair up and talk one on one with someone of their ability. My only problem is that I am lazy and frugal, so I frequently refrain from driving 15 miles to attend the meetings. Does anyone want to practice speaking Spanish on Skype or any other computer program? I would love to converse for about 20 mn, 3 days per week. Maybe we could even start an online meetup with a group of three or so.

Hola Guys. My Name Is Manel. I'm From Algeria North Africa.16yrs . I'm New Member.I Came Here So As To Learn Spanish As A Third Language . Anyway i Hope You Can Help Me For It Guys. Thannxx Alot

Manel: ¡Bienvenido a Rocket Spanish! If you come to the Spanish forum often you will find several of us here who participate regularly and will freely help you any way that we can. One person who visits here regularly is a native Spanish speaker, and several others are fairly fluent. Then there are the gringos como yo... What are your other languages? English and Arabic, perhaps?

Bienvenido Manel4 Feel free to post anytime, about anything you wish to know more about, anything you want to discuss, get an opinion, etc. Hopefuly this excellent community of spanish lovers will be able to help you and you will make new friends! Nuevamente, bienvenido y felicidades por tomar este paso importante en tu camino hacia el aprendizaje de un nuevo lenguaje, el español! Saludos cordiales desde Tijuana, Baja California, México!

Et voila, tu as tout là, Manel. Cristian is our native Spanish speaker and don't let Dan fool you about being a gringo, he's just being modest. And you'll see that both he and Aurora are incredibly helpful to others here in the forum. Bienvenido a Rocket Spanish!

Hola!Me llamo Sol.Soy Filipina de Las Filipinas.Ahora soy desempleado.Tengo una hermana y una hermano entonces soy mas joven.Vivemos con nuestro madre en Manila.Encantado de conercete.Y ustedes?

Hola Sol( spanish for sun, nice!). Me llamo Cristian , soy orgullosamente mexicano, de Tijuana, Baja California. Tengo 2 hermanos, y yo soy el mayor. Vivo en Tijuana con mis padres pero hace 3 meses adquirí una pequeña casa donde voy a vivir próximamente. Mucho gusto, saludos hasta Filipinas! Who is next? Buen día!

Si,de acuerdo,mi padre me da mi nombre.El quiero leer Literature.Mi realmente de nombre es Marisol(stands for "sun of the sea").Tienes trabaja?Que?Es usted casado o todavia soltero y incluso tus hermanos?Encantado!y Agradable hablar usted!Gracias!Buena suerte y buenas noches!Nos vemos!

Si,de acuerdo,mi padre me da mi nombre.El quiero leer Literature.Mi realmente de nombre es Marisol(stands for "sun of the sea").Tienes trabaja?Que?Es usted casado o todavia soltero y incluso tus hermanos?Encantado!y Agradable hablar usted!Gracias!Buena suerte y buenas noches!Nos vemos aqui!

Si,de acuerdo,mi padre me da mi nombre.El quiero leer Literature.Mi realmente de nombre es Marisol(stands for "sun of the sea").Tienes trabaja?Que?Es usted casado o todavia soltero y incluso tus hermanos?Encantado!y Agradable hablar usted!Felicdades por tienes un nuevo casa.Gracias!Buena suerte y buenas noches!Nos vemos Cristian!

Hola Marisol, Sun of the sea, exacto!. Mar y Sol. Aun no me he casado, pero tengo novia. Mis hermanos están solteros, uno tiene novia y el otro no. Trabajo en una empresa llamada Medtronic desde hace un año(puedes buscar la compañia en google). Muchas gracias por tus felicitaciones. Nos vemos pronto!

Cristian: tengo una amiga aquí en Roanoke, Virginia que trabaja de Medtronic. Y también, cuando yo era bombero, utilizé "defibrillators" que fabricó de Medtronic. ¡Que un mundo poco!

hola!Es un largo tiempo.Estoy enfermo reciente.Pero ahora estoy muy bien.Asi estoy solo aqui ahora.Que pasa?