How long did it take you to learn Spanish fluently?

I am so impressed. I took spanish in grade school as we lived in the panama canal, and I took it again for 4 years of highschool. But, I never did become fluent - to where I could think in the language, I always had to translate in my head. I suppose it would help to be around it everyday with practical usage. I am impressed with your talents. haha on the teacher!

I learned some when I was young, my best friend was Cuban and his parents would talk to me only in Spanish, I would answer in English. When I started taking classes in school, it became very easy for me. I picked it up quickly. By the time I graduated High School, I was reading, writing and speaking fluently. I married my husband in 1996 and moved to an all Cuban area of South Florida. There I perfected my Spanish and picked up alot of Spanish slang. Now I live in Northern Illinois and have learned a lot of the Mexican dialect and slang. I would say it took about a year to be able to speak and understand it to a point I felt comfortable. Now, I don't even translate anything in my head anymore. I hear the words as if the person was speaking to me in English. I will sometimes dream in Spanish too. Once, I was talking to my mom, who speaks no Spanish at all, and I was telling her I had heart burn. But I couldn't remember how to say it in English !! LOL