Foreign language experiences in other countries

Sep 4 00:33 UTC 1991

Going to another country where you don't speak the language can be either a
good or a bad experience.  I'm wondering if anyone here has any anecdotes
about experiences in other countries that concern language.

I went to Italy when I was fifteen, for example, and I spoke no Italian.  I
was already nearly fluent in German and I also spoke a little Spanish, but
the Germans I was with also spoke no Italian and no English to boot.  I
still had a good time, though, and actually communicated with the people
by speaking my broken Spanish very slowly and using lots of hand signals.
Luckily, though, I only had to spend a few days there -- any more of that
would have probably driven me bonkers!

Griz

response 2 of 22:

Sep 4 09:46 UTC 1991

"Disclaimed" being the key term.....
  
When I was 14, my parents took me on a cruise that involved a stop in
Caracas, Venezuela.  As we were strolling around, we heard some guy
telling his friend (in Spanish) a nasty remark about the gringos walking
by.  Dad immediately turned around and told the guy (with a few obscenities
mixed in) that SOME gringos could understand him and that perhaps he'd
better be more careful in making remarks about his (Dad's) wife and
daughter?  The guy stammered, apologized, and ran off.
  
(Mom, who doesn't speak Spanish, was really pissed to have missed the whole
thing.)

response 4 of 22:

Oct 6 13:57 UTC 1991

In sweden, they *all* spoke English (excepting for what appeared to be a
recent immigrant from elsewhere.)  Most of them could also understand
English, and would definitely automatically switch to English if they
thought that was your native language.  At least 50% of the TV programs
were in English (w/ swedish subtitles).  And a certain percentage seem
to have visited the states "sometime recently".  Sweden is just not the
place to get a "foreign language" experience.  (I'd say Georgia is
"more" foreign than Sweden.) The airline may be the worse -- except for
the fact that they also recited the language instructions in Swedish,
(*after* the english, mind you!) you might as well have been on an
american airline.

response 6 of 22:

Apr 19 22:05 UTC 1992

I just returned from Hong Kong.  We stayed in a hotel that was very 
popular with Japanese tourists.  One morning, the elevator I was
riding stopped and two Japanese women entered.  They were obviously
excited to be in Hong Kong.

When we got to the ground floor, one of the women turned to me, and
said something that sounded like, "Fuzuba?"  I was taken aback for a
second because while I have been mistaken for an Italian, Mexican, and
even Greek, I don't look in the least Japanese.  Anyway, I took a
second, then replied, "Yes, this is the lobby."

The woman and her companion immediately recognized the mistake, and
we all smiled at each other.  I held the door for them, and as they
exited, they both said, "Senk you."

response 8 of 22:

Apr 10 08:33 UTC 1994

I had a "foreign" experience last year when I went back to Mexico to visit
my parents (they live in Acapulco to be more precise).  I live in Los Angeles
and hoping to shave a few $$ off the plane tix, I took a flight that would 
get me to Acapulco with a change of planes in Mexico City.  I thought I'd get
the chance to talk to my sister and friends whilke I waited there.  Well, this
flight took me from L.A. to Dallas, then all the way to the other side of
the country (Houston) then to Mexico City and then to Acapulco.  The plane got
delayed two hours in Dallas, 1 1/2 in Houston and by the time I landed inMexico
 City it was already past 3:00 am.. while I waited for an hour to my next
flight Iwent to the cafeteria for a snack, there was only ONE chocolate milk
left in the entire plae, as I reached over to grab it a hand came from behind
me  and snatched right out of mine.. a French woman that was a part of a larger
group that were on their way to Acapulco and whom I had seen at the Airport in
Dallas.

Without giving me a chance to say a word she walked away and as she was paying
at the cash register she turned around with a smirk on her face and drank the
whole  thing.  Hungry and chocolat-milk thirsty I climbed on the plane to
Acapulco I had requested a window seat in advance, when I got to my assigned
seat much to my  surprise(and anger) the same woman was occupying it.  Being
the polite person I try to always be I said first in Spanish, then in English
"excuse me but this is my seat" as I was going to say it in French, she told
her mates what was going on (in French) and said that she would not move and
that she would pretend she didn't understand and I'd go away.  That did it!..
Loud as I now feel ashamed of (a little... hehe!) I snapped at her in French
that it was not OK, and that I wanted her out of my seat (in French) and I also
used a few bad words I had learned in school. I grabbed her stuff and as she
was starting to say something I said "fermez ta bouche" (by now I almost forgot
all of my French), I tossed her stuff on the floor and

she got up, I sat down and did not look at her.  When she sat next to me
I turned around with a smirk on my face and said "mercy" and watched
the
most beautiful daybreak I had seen in a long time. 
 
As a side note, I saw her a few days later on the beach in Acapulco and
ran to the market across the street, bought two one gallon bottles of
chocolate milk and asked the waiter (I knew him) to deliver them to the hut
she was with her friends...  although I didn't ask him to dump the content
of one of them on her by "accident".   I feel a litle bad about the whole thing
now but I hope that she learned something out of her trip... and if she
didn't oh, well... I'm going back for my vacation soon!.
 

response 10 of 22:

Apr 10 21:09 UTC 1994

Er...by the way, Houston is *not* "on the other side of the country. We
here in the great Mid*West*, consider Houston to be on the other side
of the country. 

response 12 of 22:

Apr 11 05:30 UTC 1994

I can't recall ever encountering anyone as boorish as your french "lady",
Heck. Even in France, where everyone is a *little* boorish toward
foreigners. I do make an effort to avoid confrontations, though - but
not to the extent of being bamboozled.

response 14 of 22:

Apr 12 21:30 UTC 1994

I am married to a Filipino woman.  I have an interest in languages, and my
enthusiasm for learning a fair amount of Tagalog (the primary Filipino
language) put me in very good stead with the "natives" when we traveled there.
It does so likewise hear in the U.S. when I speak with Filipinos living here.
It amazes me sometimes, though it shouldn't, the number of American men 
married to Filipino women that have shown no learning of their wive's 
language(s), even after several years of marriage.  Some of it is aptitude,
perhaps, but I suspect most of it is lack of interest - typical ugly yankee.

Being forewarned about Quebecers lack of tolerance for anglophiles that
won't speak French when in Quebec (at least the Canadians), I looked forward
to the challenge of dusting off my college French when we took a vacation
there.  I did OK, although better at reading than at hearing :-)  I made an
effort, and ended up with a few (amiable) bilingual conversations, where I
would do my best to speak in French, was replied to in English, and I then
responded back in French, etc.  Again, I think that folks appreciate the
effort of trying, if nothing else.

response 16 of 22:

Apr 13 05:08 UTC 1994

Many years ago (20 to be exact) I had the good fortune to go to Japan
to work on a computer system for my company. I was already interested
in things Japanese, as I had an interest in the game of GO.
I lobbied for the trip, and actually taught myself some Japanese
from the experience.

I was over there for two weeks, and I could never understand what they
said, no matter how slowly they spoke, but I did read maps and navigated 
around on the extensive train system which is labeled only in Japanese.

I was astounded by how big a deal they made over my efforts to learn
their language. Even though I never really achieved spoken communication,
I was an instant hero. I guess there just aren't that many English speakers
willing to try that.

response 18 of 22:

Jun 20 23:31 UTC 1994

...and then there was the time i asked my mother-in-law to buy me
"una lata de gusanos" instead of "una lata de guisantes" (" can of worms"
instead of a "can of  peas".  i couldn't figure out why she kept looking at me
so weird... and kep arguing that her son wouldn't eat those, when i told her in
very loud and precise spanish that he did at *our* house... (oh, the
humiliation...)

response 20 of 22:

Jun 21 13:06 UTC 1994

I've had the usual experiences: eg, studying my little Berlitz
book and then asking a tour bus driver when the bus would be
returning to the hotel, having the driver understand me perfectly
and then answer me at great length in idiomatic Italian, not
one word of which made sense to me.

My favorite story along these lines is one told by Peter Ustinov
on some talk show years ago.  He was motoring through Spain with
a university chum when they ran out of fuel in the middle of some
sparsely populated farm country.  Ustinov's friend had been in the
foreign service and spoke a dozen languages fluently, but neither
of them knew a word of Spanish.  Nevertheless, they optimistically
hailed a field worker over and Ustinov's friend started saying
the word for "gasoline" in every language he knew.  Each time, the
Spaniard would shrug uncomprehendingly.  Finally, totally exasperated,
Ustinov's friend said something that sounded like "Mbololo ngonga."
The Spaniard shrugged and shook his head.  Ustinov's friend snorted,
"The blighter doesn't speak Swahili, either!"

response 22 of 22:

Nov 1 03:36 UTC 1994

That's delightful!  I love direct-translation puns.