Learning Foreign Languages

People in foreign lands appreciate it if you learn a little of their language. Even if they speak English, even if you muck it up, they like that you respected their culture enough to try.

I took French in grade school, high school, and college, yet when I traveled to Paris, I realized how much I had forgotten. Still, I knew enough to try and the French seemed to really appreciate how much effort I made. Our concierge gave me a mini language lesson every morning, and I have many treasured memories of trying to make myself understood. In particular, I remember a clerk trying to help me purchase a wine tasting kit. He didn't know enough English to really help me, and I didn't know enough French to ask the questions I wanted to ask. Through a hilarious combination of broken French, broken English, and terrible mime, we muddled through.

In a similar circumstance in a Montevideo restaurant, I asked Leo to allow me to try out my Spanish. Once I successfully asked where the restroom was, I realized I didn't know enough Spanish to understand the waiter's response. Luckily, Leo came to my rescue and pointed me in the right direction. These days, I know a lot more of those key words like "right" and "left."

Those are exactly the kind of travel experiences I want to have, and they're the kind  of moments that show you a ton about other people and cultures and make for interesting dinner conversation later.

Best way to learn a foreign language? Start with the basics - get a CD like Pimsleur (the library will have the more complete, expensive version) or Rosetta Stone, and start learning.

You can also check your local library. Ours has a Language Lab where you can learn all kinds of languages using their software and headsets, and you can even access the software from home. It's really cool!

The BBC has online language courses, too. You can learn French, Spanish, German, Greek, Chinese, Italian, Portuguese, and more.

There's also The Language Learning Library, where you can learn French, Spanish, German, Italian, Portuguese, Japanese, Chinese, and Russian.

And it's always nice to have a friend who speaks the language to help you improve your skills. There are lots of subtleties, jokes, and phrases I would never know about if Leo didn't help me from time to time.

You don't have to learn the entire language. But knowing a few key phrases can be really nice. I know passable French, some Spanish, and a tiny bit of several other languages. My husband is a native Spanish speaker, and also speaks Italian and English. It's really helpful to know other languages when you're traveling, but it's also just...nice.