[geeks] Phrasebooks

[Michael Thompson]

Now you have hit on my foreign language philosophy. I just completed 
my 28th trip to Germany. I can rent a car, get a hotel room, and most 
important, order dinner and a beer in German. I usually end up 
translating menus for my coworkers. I can follow a German 
conversation, but I can't really  participate. One of the most 
difficult things is figuring out how to change the rental car's 
language to English. For anything else a phrase book and a dictionary 
help. If I really need help I can almost always find someone who 
speaks English better than I speak German.

Traveling in Japan works the same way. There is lots of English at 
the airports and train stations. The restaurants usually have 
displays of the food that they serve in the windows. At one point I 
dragged a waiter outside and pointed to what I wanted for dinner. The 
bill total is usually displayed on a calculator, so that is easy.

The most important language skill is being able to say thank you, 
excuse me, hello, and good bye in your host country's language. If 
you want an interesting reaction when you are visiting, try saying 
that you don't speak their language in their language.

Beyond the language, knowing a little about expected behavior goes a 
very long way. My foreign hosts have always been very surprised when 
I didn't embarrass them.

>...it would seem food, fuel, and shelter would be quite a bit higher 
>on the list.


Michael Thompson