My very first time actually speaking Spanish!
After reading Charlius thread about his time in Spain, I thought I'd share my recent experiences with everybody.
I have just returned from a two week stay in the Torrevieja area. We were about 10 miles in-land, which is a mix of sleepy Spanish villages\towns and sprawling British\other Northern European retired communities.
I was keen to try and use my newly acquired Spanish skills so rather than visit the British 'ex-pat' bars and restaurants (hey if I want to go to Murphy's Irish Bar I can do it here, right) I would spend much more time in the local Spanish ones.
It was a fantastic experience. Ok, I no doubt made lots of mistakes, but the people genuinly seemed really pleased that I was making an effort. I'm sure many of the younger people could speak some English, but also many of the older Spanish people could not - and why should they? We were actually in Spain after all!
I started off by pointing at things and saying basic words in pigeon Spanish (eg - medio kilo gambas por favor) but as time went by I became more ambitious and tried to formulate sentences.
Ok, now to the point of my post! I wrote down some of the things that I said, so I could check on here. The thing was, I was understood!!!! Well either that or they could secretly speak English and were being kind to me lol!
Some of the things I said are below - please correct my Spanish, as I really want to improve.
I was looking around in a petrol station for some water (the shops were not yet open) and I said "¿El agua, se vende aquí?"
In a bar\cafe the waitress offered me the tapas menu. I said (after a bit of thought lol) "Sólo bebidas por favor. Ya hemos pensado la cena de esta noche."
In a market a guy was trying to sell us something and I said "Vamos a andar, posible volvemos mas tarde". He looked at me a little puzzled but I wanted to get away lol.
I must admit, when they sometimes answered in long sentences, I had to resort to "lo siento, hablo un poco español, pero intento apprender".
This was the very first time I have used the Spanish I have been learning! It was a great experience and has encouraged me to keep on trying to progress!
10 Answers
It is a good feeling, isn't it! 
I started off quite a bit of chatting yesterday at the dentist while waiting for my daughter by asking a little boy who lost his sneaker:
¿Dónde está tu zapatilla?
Thanks for sharing!
¡Sigue hablando! !Suelta la lengua!
One of the hardest things to do is actually speak to people. I know many students who have been studying for years, but seldom talk to people. You have to throw yourself out there when you have a chance. Of course you are going to make mistakes, but it would be a greater mistake to miss the opportunity!
I am thrilled you posted your experience! I was in Florida just a few days ago, and I, too, was able to use some of my limited Spanish. It truly is a wonderful feeling to be understood. Their body language with gestures and smiles told me I was doing okay, and that they were pleased I was trying. Again, thanks for sharing your experience and keep up your efforts to progress!
Thank you all for your very kind remarks.
Some other things I picked up on........ people generally said 'a luego' not 'hasta luego' and 'buen dia' rather than 'buenos dias'. Also I was very politely told that 'pongame' wasn't really used much in spoken language and when asking for something 'dame' was the term. Everybody seemed to speak to me using the tu rather than usted form.
Congratulatons, billygoat! I believe you have overcome the greatest hurdle by actually using the language. Now you can begin the process of refining your communication, but you realize the world doesn't come to an end if you make a mistake.
Don't worry about your mistakes, just learn from them. Everyone who has ever learned a language knows this is a process that takes time, and everyone makes mistakes.
It's a great feeling to start having success and gain confidence! I have found many people here in Spain that really seem to appreciate my efforts to speak Spanish. Congratulations on getting out there!!
Yes, this is excellent. I know I made a big deal about listening over speaking, but you definitely don't want to become a silent lamp post either..that's just trading one problem for another. Keep speaking, and listening hopefully too.
-Charlius-
That's great!
Once you start talking, you won't stop 
Yeah! You broke your cherry!
You are lucky in the US, we dont have many Spanish speaking people over in England so the only time I will ever speak Spanish is either on line or in Spain
...tell me about it! 
You are lucky in the US
Actually... it's because I am in Florida.
Central Florida, to be exact, but Spanish is flourishing here. Not quite like Miami... yet.
And for Hanna:
¿Dónde está tu zapatilla?
That is more... Where is your sneaker?... I think.
