Look, you can travel all around South America for 8 months without learning a word of Spanish. It can be done, with little danger or trouble, and more than a handful or British and Aussie tourists are a testament to that fact.
However, it really does add more to the experience to, let's say - be able to read the local newspaper. This doesn't take a professor-like level of Spanish proficiency, just a basic ability to understand the language and use the dictionary when needed.
My goal, initally, was to get closer to whatever fluency might be in Spanish. 
I realize now that without a homestay, and with so much travel to different parts of the continent with different accents, that was a somewhat unrealistic goal. However, I am pleased overall with my progress in Spanish. Soon, I will be finished with Noticia de un Secuestro, my second book read fully in Spanish. Accent and slang notwithstanding, I am generally able to understand and hold normal conversations with people.
One exciting thing is the prominence of Spanish in most US cities, letting me continue my practice after my return. We shall see how well that goes.
Menos mal que nos has explicado esto por aqui, que si no es por ti, no me hubiese enterado de nada.
Posted by: Mujer | November 23, 2011 at 04:20 PM