Voted Best Answer
Apr 16, 2014 - 07:34 AM
I think the difference between the two is akin to the difference between American English and British English: some accent changes and a few vocabulary words. Whichever version of Spanish you learn, you'll be understood wherever Spanish is spoken. I will say, having taken Spanish in high school, that it took me a little while to wrap my brain around the lisped C's and Z's in Spain Spanish, but now that I'm used to it, it feels totally natural. But to directly answer your question: if you're going to Spain only for a single summer, but will likely move back to the States and use Spanish for many years, I'd probably study L.A. Spanish. Again, though, either way you can't go wrong.