Learning Spanish vs. Institutional Education.

           I've gotten to the point in my life that I am interested in learning again. I have always had an interest in learning through articles and everyday experiences, but I'd like to push the boundary a little further and learn something that can benefit me on a universal level. I recently went to a retirement party for one of my wife's co-workers and struck up a conversation with the French teacher at their elementary school. The thing that stuck out the most about the things we talked about is how normal it is to be fluent in more than one language for Europeans. Many Americans have the mindset of foreigners having to learn English if they come to America. I look at that as many Americans exerting a subliminal laziness through that observation. The thinking is "Why should I have to learn a new language, if they are the ones living in my country?". That might be a bit of an exaggeration, but I think it is more or less our easy fix society looking at learning another language being a very steep hill to climb. Why should we be the ones to climb it? Well I've decided to start climbing that hill, not only to better my career, but also because I feel that I would be depriving myself not to. Immersing myself into a new language seems much more challenging than going back to school to get graded on how well I can spit facts back to a professor for a grade. Not to mention, the cost is tremendously low for such a highly valued skill. Being great at memorizing things won't get you as far as gaining useful knowledge, such as a secondary language, that you can apply towards your job, relationships, and financial situation. Sometimes you've got to swim upstream a ways to find what you are looking for. It might be harder going against the current of popular thinking, but once you've reached your destination, you won't just be another fish in the stream.