I am planning on visiting Puerto Rico this summer and spending four days there on vacation. I am looking forward to seeing beautiful places like Old San Juan, the beaches, the El Yunque rain forest, and seeing the culture. The real reason I am asking this question about language is perhaps the opposite of what you are thinking. The truth is that I have traveled and studied Spanish abroad in Mexico and Ecuador and really enjoy the Spanish language and Latin American culture. My real concern is whether or not PR will have so many english speaking people, especially in tourist areas, that I will miss out on the cultural experience and find few opportunities to practice the language. Perhaps this is not so and just sounds like a silly question–I mean, who wouldn’t appreciate your efforts to speak to them in their own language while visiting their homeland? However, I can remember as a language student in Mexico that if I went to a touristy area or on an organized tour it sometimes seemed like the guides, etc. wanted to speak to me in English even if I wanted to speak to them in Spanish. Fortunately, because I was enrolled in a language school and stayed with a host family these situations were the exception more than the rule and I normally had plenty of time to interact with locals in Spanish. However, in this trip to Puerto Rico I will be going just as a tourist, staying in a hotel, and probably taking organized tours. What do you recommend I do to get opportunities to see the “real” Puerto Rico and get to know some of the local people?

I am sorry this question is so long… :/