The first thing you'll ever need to do in Spanish is introduce yourself. Good news: it follows a predictable little script, and once you have it, you can reuse it for the rest of your life. Here it is, line by line.

The short version: Hola, me llamo… Soy de… Trabajo como… Encantado/a. Four short lines and you've introduced yourself like a native.

Line 1 — your name

Me llamo Ana (literally "I call myself Ana"). You can also say Soy Ana (I'm Ana) or Mi nombre es Ana. All three are fine; me llamo is the most common.

Line 2 — where you're from

Soy de Rusia (I'm from Russia), Soy de Moscú (I'm from Moscow). To say your nationality: Soy ruso (m) / Soy rusa (f). Remember it agrees with you — same idea as any adjective.

Line 3 — what you do

Trabajo como profesor (I work as a teacher), Soy estudiante (I'm a student), Estudio español (I study Spanish). Notice Spanish drops the article: Soy profesor, not "soy un profesor".

Line 4 — the friendly close

Encantado (if you're male) / Encantada (if female) — "nice to meet you". Or Mucho gusto, which works for everyone. The other person often replies Igualmente (likewise).

Put together

Hola, me llamo Ana. Soy de Moscú. Trabajo como diseñadora. ¡Encantada!

And to keep the conversation going, ask back: ¿Y tú, cómo te llamas? ¿De dónde eres? Those little questions come straight from the Spanish question words, and the whole script leans on the essentials in the 100 most common Spanish words and a few basic phrases.