I’ve been helping people learn Spanish by sharing my language, travel and cultural experiences that I’ve since 2005.

I started my journey with Spanish like many people, completing a few years of high school Spanish but yet wasn’t even able to have the most basic conversation.

Fast forward some 20ish years later (around 2005) with one trip to Mexico under my belt, my desire to learn Spanish was rekindled. Since then I’ve become obsessed with Spanish and have dedicated the last thirteen years to learning Spanish and at some point along the way became a fluent Spanish speaker.

I’ve certainly visited more than my fair share of the Spanish speaking world: Costa Rica, The Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Mexico, Colombia, Cuba, Ecuador, Nicaragua and Honduras.

During my travels I always immerse myself in the local environment, staying in hotels and Airbnb’s in non-touristy areas with the lugareños (locals) , soaking in the culture and language, often going days without speaking a word of English.

I’ve been exposed to various Spanish dialects, local slang, spoken with people from different social and economic statuses and in different social environments, all of which have given me an in-depth understanding of the Spanish language and the people who use it.

I’ve been running a Spanish conversation group on MeetUp.com since 2011 where I’ve been teaching conversational Latin American Spanish classes since 2013.

Classes are remote, for all levels and I specialize in helping you improve your comprehension of spoken Spanish by going beyond the textbook, teaching you the nuances of the language and how it’s used in everyday conversation.

I’m the author of the blog My Spanish Notes, which is the first blog I started in 2008.

It’s a collection of the things I learned from talking with native Spanish speakers on my quest to become bilingual. No grammar, no verb conjugations, no “book” Spanish – just real Spanish I learn from real conversations.

My second blog, ¡Qué Boquita¡ No Seas Pelangoche, is well, not for the faint of heart.

It’s dedicated to bringing you the Spanish everyone wants to learn, but no one wants to teach. I explore all the malas palabras (bad words) Spanish has to offer, with a special emphasis on Mexican slang.

It’s a fun read, and I touch on a lot of explicit language, so don’t say I didn’t warn you!

When I’m not running rampant through the the Americas, I’m a mild mannered software developer, so the merging two of my passions in life was bound to happen.

The My Spanish Phrasebook App is your classic Spanish Phrasebook, but for your phone, but with a twist.
The content is based on conversational phrases for real life, including my real life experiences.

Sure, any phrasebook can tell you how ask what time is hotel checkout, but mine will also tell you how to say your toilet is clogged up and won’t flush. Or that there’s no hot water.

If you want to check it out, here’s the link. And I apologizes to all my Apple folks, it’s currently for Android only.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.hyls.spanishphrasebook