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Hello. I was wondering if anyone out there has been to Romania (or around that area) and if so, what kind of experience have you had, what places did you visit, etc...<BR>thanks!
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I know this is a silly thing to say in English, but if any of you know people who are visiting the U.S. and speak little or no English, pass this on. If they get into a situation where they HAVE to be understood, most hospitals in bigger cities have language banks they can access to find an interpreter.
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I had a horrendous time trying to figure out anything in Prague (and surrounding areas) while visiting once when the communists were still in control. I'd go into a restaurant, look at the menu and not be able to decipher a single word (Czech is loaded with "c"s and "z"s), nor even find a root word. Anyway, it turned out that nearly everyone spoke German (which I can speak) so they helped me with menu translations into German which, it turned out, were pointless because, at the time, the Czechs were experiencing extreme food shortages and nothing on the menu was available. It turned out that I spent five days dining on tough cuts of meat, old fish, cabbage and potatoes. Otherwise, I LOVED Prague and from what I've read, things are considerably better for the local populace (and tourists) than they were back then. I'd love to return someday.
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Even though I have seen this thread in the past, I never knew for sure if I wanted to add to it. My only experience in a country where I did not enjoy some language familiarty was Japan - - I really gave it the old college try for about six weeks before my 48 hour stopover there in 1994, and it felt like my payoff was essentially zero.<BR><BR>Since the other current thread on thjis subject had to do with Czech, it was interesting to read the comments from David - - and I, too, do speak German. Nevertheless, I am working on trying to acquire some rudimentary capability in Czech in anticipation for our trip there in May. I had a year of Russian a long time ago. I must remember a lot less than I thought, because I only recognize a handful of root words so far.<BR><BR>I'm sure it's not like David recalls from pre-1989 now, but I am hoping to enjoy our trip more as a result of learning some Czech. Besides, I will be the driver - - it just seems to be part of responsible driving to be able to read at least a few signs.<BR><BR>Best wishes,<BR><BR>Rex<BR>[email protected]<BR>
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This thread also didn't come up via a normal search. It's hard to believe that this is possible, but the search function is getting EVEN WORSE than it used to be!
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Having a physical infirmity, during a recent visit to Budapest with a group of about a dozen people, I was unable to go with the others who were visiting and touring the national parliament. So, for the hour or so that my wife and the others were inside, I chose to sit outside the parliament building on a bench in a lovely little park. While sitting there, and older couple, probably in their late 70s, sat down next to me on the long bench. Based on how they dressed, it was my assumption that that they were rural types, probably from a farm, and the clothes they wore were their "dressed-up, Sunday-go-to-church clothes," she in a floral print dress and he in an older-style single-breasted blue suit. Being American, and not understanding Hungarian(one of the most unique and difficult of all languages to most nationalities), I was unable to converse with the old couple in the traditional way. And yet, we "communicated" for a half-hour or so, and it was a very warm, memorable experience for me. Somehow, we managed to express some thoughts, especially emotions. When my wife and the others returned, I introduced my wife to them, and they were especially pleased that I remembered their names and apparently pronounced them correctly. My heart still warms when I think of their smiles and politeness as they acknowledged introductions. Perhaps, despite what they may have heard during their lifetimes, all citizens of the United States are not "ugly Americans."
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I hope people will keep adding to this thread. I also wonder whether there have been some noticeable changes in the language situation in the almost 2 1/2 years since this thread was started.
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I would have to say that Beijing and Xi'an (not so much Hong Kong) were the places one ought to have a working knowledge of the language. For this reason we refrained from using the local buses - used taxis instead. Even then we had to have our destination written down for us in Mandarin by someone at the hotel.<BR>We experienced little to no communication difficulties in Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula (Playa del Carmen) - we gladly took the local bus to most places. The only disappointment was how 'Americanised' Cancun was - down to the almost 'mandatory' tipping culture. In fact, I recall commenting to my husband whilst in Florida that I heard more Spanish being spoken in Florida than in our 2 weeks in Mexico!<BR>Being a mixed couple and travelling to Amsterdam and Paris meant smiling sweetly and indicating we didn't understand when speaking to most locals (most ppl made the assumption that we were locals).
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Oh! To be a child again! About 20 years ago I had the good fortue of being an exchange Professor at the University of Ulm in Germany. Only I spoke any German. As we were unpacking my children ages 10,8, and 6 went outside and were soon joined by neighbor kids of similar ages. After about 20 minutes of wild gesticulations and lots of giggling and laughter my eldest came inside and announced that Roland's father wants to take us to the circus at 2:30 after Hagen finishes his violin lesson. Language was no barrier! My wife had a somewhat harder time and once called me at work rather distraught. " A man came to the front door and shouted 'Ei' at me - when I tried to ask what he wanted all he would do is shout 'Ei'. I finally just said 'yes - I know it's you' and closed the door". I chuckled and said "It's just a local farmer trying to sell you some fresh eggs".
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Topping for new stories.
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Have travelled extensively in Europe for 20+ years and have not found any country in which it was not possible to get by in english. Russia was the one country in which knowing something of another language made travel easier - and that was more a matter of learning the cyrillic alphabet - and just a smattering of russian.
what I have found (not surprisingly) is that there is often a significant difference between large cities/tourist desinations and "non-tourist" small towns - in the latter English is not spoken as widely and it helps to know something of the local language - but you can still get by with a few words and sign language if necessary. (I've managed to find a shoemaker and have sandals repaired and buy cough syrup in a pharmacy in towns where it seemed no one spoke any english.) I'm sure traveling is even more fulfilling when you're fluent in the language of the country you're visiting - but since I can't be fluent in everything I think it's better just to go and muddle through. What still amazes me is how much long-lost college French, Spanish or German comes back after only a day or so in a country speaking that language. |
I recently returned from my first solo trip to Italy. I visited Rome, Bolonga, Florence, and Venice and was shocked at how many people spoke excellent English. I know enough Italian to get by, but when I would initiate a conversation in Italian the locals more often than not would switch to English (maybe in part because of my very poor Italian!). I was also amazed at how many other foreigners (i.e., Japanese, Dutch, etc.) didn't speak Italian but would try to communicate to others via English.
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In Hungary, we found English widely spoken only in Budapest, but people were wonderful about trying to communicate with us. We stayed in a little guesthouse in Kunhegyes which had never before had English speaking guests. The owner bought English-Hungarian dictionaries just to be able to talk to us!
In the town where my husband's father had lived, my husband looked for traces of his father. The lady in the tourist office called her daughter on a cell phone to have her translate, then persuaded the town archives to open just for us. Four staff spent about an hour searching their documents to find my father-in-law's name on a school roster from 1919! We felt a warm welcome in Hungary without speaking Hungarian, but when my 2 year old grandson learned to say "thank you" in Hungarian, we really made friends! |
Studying in Germany at a university, in the first week all the exchange students met at a restaurant to get to know one another. An Italian girl, on finding out I come from the US, asked me a question. I replied in German, because we were in Germany, and I thought I should be practicing. She replied in a very disgruntled manner, "You do speak English, don't you?"
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When we have camped in France, way out in the country we have run into the occasional campground where nobody speaks English so we've been very glad we knew enough French to get by. They've always been very nice, but some just didn't know English. (I expect the French have similar experiences in American campgrounds; some camp supervisors just don't know French!)
Once near Poitier we spent the better part of a week eating at the campground restaurant with a very pleasant young man as our waiter. He appeared to speak only French. The last night I couldn't figure out one menu item and resorted to digging my French dictionary out of my purse. When the young waiter saw the dictionary, he immediately told us (in perfect English) what the item was. Quick on the uptake, I said, "You speak English. Why didn't you use it before?" He just as quickly replied, "Because it's very difficult." I could relate!! |
On my first trip to Italy, a friend of mine told me that I probably wouldn't need use my Italian much as almost everyone in the large cities speak English. Wrong! I was very surprised at how many people "did not" speak English, even in tourist areas. So, my Italian did come in handy after all.
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My sister-in-law, who understands Italian and speak Portugese and Spanish, and I, with my Turkish and smattering of European languages, struggled through Sienna, Italy, on a quest for diapers. In one department store, we amused the sales girl with all sorts of charades and efforts at finding the right words. It hadn't occured to us that apparently, the universal word for diapers is "pampers."
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RUSSIA- Travelling independantly it is essential. Even in the large cities most people don't speak English. Try at least to learn the alphabet as suggested before.TURKEY- In the large cities and on the coast there are lots of people who have worked abroard or in the tourist industry, however in the vast interior you can travel for days without finding someone who understands you. But the people are so charming and kind they will do anything to help. Bus drivers only need your destination written on a piece of paper and they will take it upon themselves to get you there. Passing you on to another driver at bus stations or cross roads.A fabulous country to travel in.
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Miami. Did not need to know English.
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