Pay attention when a native Spanish speaker is speaking and try to get notes... these notes will be much useful and real than most Spanish phrasebooks.

You can create your personalized Spanish phrase book and vocabulary list. It is important that you make sure you understand in which context you can use them.

When starting off, try to register those words and expressions that deal with your current lifestyle. If you are traveling, phrases like the following can be very useful:

• "Soy de... (your country´s name)"

• "He estado en ... (places you have visited)"

• "Soy... (your profession)"

• "Quiero visitar... (places you want to visit)"

• "Me quedo en... (the lodge where you are staying)"

Little by little you will naturally encounter other words or phrases that you will want to add to this list. 

Keep one special section for words more relevant to you and mark it with a sticker so you can find it quickly in case of emergency!