[vanchisel]

It's hilarious how many people don't speak English in America. I know "it's the melting pot of the world", but, it's a shame. I am Cuban/Jamaican (Spanish/English). I met a few women who live here for 40 years and don't speak English. Wow!

[Pix]

I always went to a lot of trouble to learn the rudiments of any language before visiting a country as I find that the most rewarding part of any visit is usually in the conversations that one has with the local people, to understand their culture and the way they think.

For example in Libya I learned from a man about how he was going to take two wives. To a westerner the man would be decried as a sexist pig or whatever. However in the context he was a good and charitable man.

If he divorced his first wife, who he had married out of family duty, she would be cast out into the street, be shamed, and no one would take her in. By keeping her and taking a second wife, he ensured his first wife kept her pride and status, and a roof over her head.

As well as Leptis Magna, that conversation was one of the highlights of my stay.

[iankendal]

Well i try to start learning the new langauge but i seem to move every 8 months or so to another country and therefore never actually master a certain language. I have learned bits of Thai, Korean and Spanish!

[Frauke]

Donney,

actually I don't have so much trouble with the reflexive part of the language as I am German and German is reflexive, too. You just have to accept how it is used.

I have more trouble with the fact that Spanish has two "to be" and for "for" you can use "para" and "por". Sometimes it's unclear to me when to use it.

[Motivated]

I have Mongolian lessons twice a week, I have a great teacher who comes to my apartment - saves me the hassle of going out anywhere in minus ur balls temps!

When you are surrounded by a different language every day there's really no way you can't pick up at least some of the local lingo. I make an effort to speak to Mongolians in their native tongue (completely useless outside the borders), and it generally opens a lot of positive doors and closes a lot of negative ones eg: gettin' ripped off by taxi drivers, dealing with the corrupt police who want $10 out of your wallet for no real reason etc.

[kisito]

I speak daily Chinese fluently, make calls in Chinese to Chinese people and they can't even tell I am a foreigner on the phone. I shop, do banking stuff, order food and stun Chinese with my accent which most Chinese say is very standard. BUT, I can't read any Chinese characters. When you show me text in Chinese, I go blind. So where do I belong?

[hawaiibadboy]

Enough to survive.
Juuuuust enough