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Spreken ze?

Poll - Total Votes: 7
Yes and I loved it! Learned a new language too!
Hated it! Couldn't understand a thing. Never doing it again.
Never traveled outside of my comfort zone, never will.
Most people speak English so it's not a big deal.
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Have you ever traveled to a foreign country that speaks a language you don't know? What was your experience? How did you get along?

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TheCoolestCat · 31-35, M
i lived in luxembourg for a year, it didnt seem to matter that i didnt speak any german or french, everyone spoke english
PeanutsauntieP1982 · 41-45, F
Well, I went to Mexico in 1999 with my best friend. At the time, I knew a few phrases in Spanish, but not much else. So, my bestie, who is Fluent in Spanish, got tired of translating for me. Now, her dad doesn't speak much English, and so I had to use what I knew to talk to dad (Her parents are also Mom and Dad to me). So she told me "I'm not translating for you any more. You talk to Dad in Spanish at home!"

So, there I was, in a country where I barely spoke the language, and I felt like a rowboat minus the oars!

So I had to pay attention, and when I didn't know a word, I'd pantomime what I was trying to communicate, with a large degree of success. :-D

I vowed to myself though, that the next time I went to Mexico, my Spanish would be much better. After we got back, I set out to teach myself to not only speak the language, but read and write it too.

About 6 years later, my now ex husband (we were married at the time), and my ex father in law, went to another part of Mexico, deeper in, and my ex had to use me to translate for him! I may not be bilingual perfectly, but I can communicate and understand Spanish with few problems. I practice my Spanish everyday now. Plus, next year my bestie and I are going to Guatemala for a couple of weeks. I'm not scared, I'm looking forward to the adventure!
SW-User
I lived in China, and my Mandarin is awful. People who spoke a bit of English always helped translate for me, but I did a lot of pointing and gesturing. I wish I had been able to learn more, but even with a private tutor, my ability to hear the tones was non-existant.
Indieoriginal · 61-69, M
In Japan and S. Korea, everyone understands English, yet most are very patient and helpful to people trying to learn their language. Even business trips there have been mostly enjoyable.
Shade70 · 51-55, M
Was just in China at the start of the month. My Mandarin consists of "thank you" and "hello" and that's pretty much it. There were a handful of people who knew English that I encountered, but I also learned to take a lot of photos of my hotel with my cell phone for asking for directions if I got lost, haggling prices via calculator screen at markets and other things (menus in restaurants often had pictures of the food in them, thank god!). The hardest part was navigating the city buses. I just took it all in stride and it really added to the adventure and the experience of it all.

 
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