Years ago, I went to Peru.
Hiked to Machu Picchu, had ceviche and pisco sour, got altitude sickness, the whole nine yards.
Of all the fantastic experiences I had, there are tons of smaller moments I remember with complete clarity:
- The strange hotels we stayed in
- The super-realistic mannequins
- A haircut I got
- How often there was a chicken foot in my soup (Peru has amazing food, but this was not for me and I still think about it to this day)
These experiences taught me tons of new Spanish, too.
Funny how getting out of our routine makes little things so memorable.
But hopping on a plane isn’t always realistic, so what can we do to recreate a similar learning environment at home?
That’s our topic for today.
Want to be a more confident, clear Spanish speaker on your next trip?
Start here.
First, a bit of planning
I recently signed up for a meal plan service.
It’s simple but so far, I’m really liking it: each week, we get 3 recipes and a grocery list.
The big thing it does is encourage us to do basic meal prep on Sundays.
That way, we eat well during the week but cut down on 70% of the chopping and dishes.
What makes the meal planning work isn’t just the planning itself.
It’s how it removes decision fatigue, creates a clear plan to follow and saves time later on.
The same principle applies to your Spanish practice.
Planning your week of Spanish in advance is something I’ve recommended a few times here in the newsletter, for all the same reasons:
- Less indecision during your busy times of the week
- Feel more like you have a plan
- Can be more strategic about what you’re doing
But it’s hard to make yourself do it.
So it got me thinking:
What might be a week-long plan for you that would be easy to implement, fun and unique?
So I landed on this:
Let’s plan a 7 day trip, and use that as our source of input and output for the week.
(Any Europeans in the audience basking in 30 days of paid time off can adjust this to a more leisurely number of days):
Here’s how it works:
Step 1: Plan Your Route (Sunday)
- Google “itinerario de 7 días Colombia/Guatemala/Islas Canarias/etc”
- Browse through real travel blogs and itineraries
- Pick your 7 destinations for the week
Step 2: Find 7 Daily “Experiences” (Sunday)
Go to Airbnb experiences in your chosen cities (make sure you set your language to Spanish for this). Pick activities that sound fun to you.


Step 3: Make It Real (Monday – Sunday)
Each day, your mission is to:
- Pick an Airbnb experience from your itinerary (TripAdvisor and others work, too)
- Dive into the Spanish descriptions and reviews
- Collect interesting phrases and vocabulary
- Write or speak about your “experience” using the vocabulary you’ve discovered

Clase de cocina en Cartagena, Colombia

Why This Approach Works
Like with my meal plan, you make the necessary decisions all at once so that, on a busy Wednesday morning when you only have 20 minutes, you can dive into learning.
But it goes further:
- You’re dealing with real, practical Spanish
- There’s natural context for everything you learn
- The content is engaging and meaningful
- You’re combining multiple skills (reading, writing, speaking)
I’m working on a fun speaking challenge that uses a similar approach, based on my own trip to Peru. More info coming in the next week.
Make It Even Better
The reviews are a gold mine of useful, everyday Spanish expressions.
Or take it further – copy those comments into an AI tool and have it suggest and translate 10 interesting phrases for you to use.
Then, get the AI to ask you questions as speaking/writing prompts.

Your Daily Practice Plan
With your itinerary in hand, each day becomes a mini-adventure:
- Choose your daily experience
- Read the descriptions and reviews
- Imagine yourself there
- Write or speak about it
You can use AI to help with prompts and corrections, but it’s not required.
The beauty of this approach is that it combines structure (like my meal plan) with the excitement of travel.
Each day becomes a mini-adventure in Spanish, with real context and practical vocabulary you might actually use someday.
And isn’t that what language learning should be about? Not just memorizing words, but preparing for real experiences?
Give it a try this week. Tomorrow (Sunday), pick your destination, plan your route, and let’s see where your Spanish takes you.
Saludos,
Connor
P.S. Speaking of travel plans – I recently connected with Jenny Desmond, a tour leader in Cuba and Colombia who put together a guide on traveling with just a carry-on (geared towards travelers 55+).
Given that many of you are avid travelers, I thought you might find her real-world experience useful. If you’re interested, you can grab her free guide here.