I'm aware that the following may sound like bragging, but I'm just making an effort to show that I know what I'm talking about.
To Marlies: I find all languages wonderful.
Spanish, because it was the first foreign language I had contact with, inspired by a pretty Cuban girl in my third grade class in Florida.
I started learning my mother tongue pre-school from comics and street advertisements. In Florida I was sent by by school to the State Spelling Bee.
In High School I received a small scholarship for my achievements in foreign languages (French and German). Thanks to that I was accepted at the US Army Language School for a 12-month Russian Course. I finished as ninth in a class of 59 and was allowed to choose Germany as my next assignment. At the school's book store I bought a Teach Yourself Esperanto book. On leaving the Army I became active in the German Esperanto movement. As an English teacher I took part in a Turkish course at Augsburg University. More in my replies. G.Tucker