In my experience, people are more than happy to help you learn their language; they are just excited that you want to learn!
Now, with three college/university level Spanish classes and two high school Spanish classes under my belt, on top of living in a Spanish-speaking country for nearly three and a half months, I am speaking at a late-elementary to early middle school level, which is amazing progress. It may not seem like a lot, but learning a language is a life-long process, especially Spanish in our case. While I have learned a lot in my studies (despite how frustrating it can be sometimes) and has been an amazing part of my Spanish journey, I have come to realize a lot of the things I learn are not applicable in my day-to-day life.
The Spanish we learn in class is very European-centered. "Spain Spanish" is what we are being taught in the classroom, but I have noticed a lot more classes in the United States adding in a bit more "Mexican Spanish" depending on where you are. Now there is a reason why I have "Mexican Spanish" and "Spain Spanish" in quotations, it's because neither of them is the CORRECT form of Spanish. Venezuelans, Costa Ricans, Guatemalans, Argentinians, Bolivians, Peruvians and all of the Spanish-speaking countries have their own Spanish. While the basic grammar structures are universal, which is why you should still pay attention in class, there are still some specific words that mean different things in Spanish. I have learned Mexican Spanish, but even within Mexico, some words replace a universal word.
