Hyper,
I'm a Spanish Teacher and Private Spanish Tutor in South Florida. Listen, you don't learn Sp by translating words from a dictionary. You need to buy some CD roms with audio, so when people go to speak with you, you will know what they are saying...

Also, starting listening to Sp radio stations and put on Univision or Telemundo and watch the news or sitcoms in Sp, so you will start picking up basic vocab. You need to immerse yourself in it, not just pick up a book or CD a few hours a week.

As for the grammar, don't worry to much about verb conjugations at first. Just start out with basic conversational stuff.

Where in Florida might you move? If your around Miami, Lauderdale area, I can give you a ton of stuff.

Hope I helped ya!

Re: Learning a new language
 

Don't drink the water.