Traveling solo for first time? I'm a teenager
 

Hello! In early 2015 I will be visiting my brother in Spain. I've travelled a lot before, but it was always with family. Any tips? I will be going from MSP to XRY and I have layovers in Dallas and Madrid. I speak very limited Spanish. (I took a semester if spanish in grade 8. All I know are a few basic words and phrases) this September I'll be taking French but they'll let me make a schedule change if it's a few weeks in advance. So should I take Spanish or not? And do people in Spain understand English or French? Please leave advice!

Does your brother speak Spanish? You certainly won't need it to change flights, or in major cities, although it's always good to know a few polite words, like excuse me and thank you.

You will get more replies on Europe questions on the Europe board.

I think it would be a great idea to study another year of Spanish before your trip. But you don't need to speak the local language to be able to travel.

Some people in Spain will speak English, especially in the tourist industry, but most locals won't. You can still get around.

I agree to check out the Europe forum here for lots of excellent information that can help you plan the trip.

(I answered on your other thread)

While it will never hurt to speak at least a little the language of the country you'll be visiting, the area around Jerez with Sevilla, Cadiz, Costa de la Luz and the White Villages has been major tourism hotspot for decades. Plus you have the base in Rota. So you can expect that 95% of the foreign visitors in that area speak no more than 10 phrases in Spanish - or less. Unless your brother lives in a small village off the beaten tourist trails, you should have no problems.
In addition, while learning Spanish for a year will help you to read and speak, I think you will surprised how different Spanish spoken in Andalucia sounds from the Latin American variants you will probably learn in the US.

I would take Spanish just because it is a more useful language in general. (I also answered on your other thread).

While traveling, if people do not understand you, try writing it down and showing it to them; many people understand written better than spoken.

My daughter flew at age 15 to Spain to visit an ex-exchange student. She found that far fewer people at Madrid airport spoke English at all than she expected - but she was able to make her flight connection, buy food, find the bathroom, with her limited Spanish.

If your family will agree to this, I always think it is a good idea to have a credit card with you with enough credit on it to handle an emergency - a flight home, hotel if connecting flight is cancelled. They can get you one in your name on their account.

Get some local currency before you leave. Not a lot - just enough to buy a snack or other necessities at Madrid connection. Your local bank can do that for you for a small fee.

Before you leave, take all cards, IDs out of your wallet. Look at which ones you really need on your trip and leave the others home. Then make a couple of photocopies of both sides of everything you are bringing. Leave one with your family and bring another in someplace other than your wallet. Same for your passport. A photocopied passport is useless for travel or formal ID, but it makes things go a bit faster if you should lose your passport.

Have a good trip.

Navigating most any airport in the world can be done successfully without knowing a word of the local language and without needing to speak to anyone. You just look at the signs!!!!

And get a money belt. Aside from travel days, only one day's supply of cash should be in your wallet. I use http://www.backpacktravelstore.com/L...p/grlkwmbb.htm