Hey guys, thanks for all the really helpful responses. I want to reply to some of the cocerns, but first of all, I really wanted to say thank you!
I really need to back up my advisor because he has been the most helpful person to me during my undergraduate experience. He's a young guy (I'm not EXACTLY sure, but no older than 35), so he isn't very far removed from the whole process. I don't think he's out of touch. I simply think that I'm the most promising student he's had in recent years (that is looking to go for a PhD, I would never assume to say I'm the most promising out of everyone, considering I know very smart individuals who have recently graduated or are about to), and he really wants me to succeed. I also think that the program he went to wasn't very strong on languages (he did have to know one foreign language, but like some have mentioned, it wasn't a huge deal), so he may not be as familar with the requirements as I'd like.
I'm very wary about taking a year off for a bounty of reasons. One of them is financial, and that I really can't afford to take a year off. I do not have a full-time job, and my loans will kick in in 6 months unless I go to graduate school. I don't have the money right now to pay them out of pocket, and I'd hardly make enough money at my current job to pay them monthly and be able to save. The other reason if I'm afraid I'll get caught up in something (a relationship, some type of job offer, etc) and won't be willing to go back to school OR move to pursue my interests.
I definitely want to fit in at the school I go to, that is obviously a priority. However, to me, graduate school is another adventure. I want to go somewhere to start fresh, but I want to enjoy that place. Hence looking at Californian schools, which I think matches up well with my personality and where I see myself in the next few years. I know this may seem superficial to some, but I really want to enjoy my life, and whatever school I choose, I need to be sure that is a place I can live for an extended period of time (considering the length of obtaining this degree). However, I am looking at other places on the East Coast per recommendations, but shying away from Midwestern/Southern schools, mainly because I dislike the political views of what seems to be the majority of the folks in those areas (apologies to any I may offend with this stereotypical view, but it's my personal opinion).
The problem with language is that my school doesn't have language classes - or really, not serious ones. I suppose to someone glancing at a class list might THINK I learned something in Beginner Spanish, but it wasn't much. My school is trying an intermediate class this semester, and so since language seems to be important, I might have to go ahead and sign up for it. Or would it be okay to try and give it a go on my own, studying with books/online materials/Rosetta Stone, that type of thing?
And as a reply to TMP - I think I know why I want a PhD. First of all, I love to learn. I couldn't stand not going back to school. Secondly, I really want to teach, and I want that to matter, and teaching highschoolers isn't what I crave. I really would like to teach (and learn from) students who are interested in things that I'm interested in. So, the college level. And third, I enjoy researching and writing is perhaps the strongest skill I have in my arsenal. I'd like to develop that further. I'm not sure if these are the 'right' reasons for you, but they are for me.