I took a year of French and a year of Spanish in high school, can't speak either of them.
I've been to Mexico twice (week each time), I tried to stay away from the tourist areas. I picked up more Spanish in a week than I did in a year of classes.
Also had a friend of mine who's family came over from Italy, family spoke English outside of the house but at home would speak Italian. When you're around a language you pick it up better than in a classroom setting, at least for me.
Sort of figure when you have neighbors who speak a different language it's more important to pick it up out of necessity. But it still amazes me.
