Quote:
Originally Posted by pinknic38
2.I hate when English speakers (I want to say Americans but maybe others do too, I just see Americans do this more) travel somewhere and get pissed when folks there don't speak any English! Travel to the UK or Canada or Oz if you have such an aversion to language barriers. I am a language barrier-phobe and I was able to have coffee with this 80 year old man in Germany who thought my tattoo was cool. He didn't speak a lick of English and I don't even know conversational German but we had a nice visit and convo thanks to hand motions and a ohrasebook. You have to make the effort. This is part of the reason why everyone thinks Americans are such assholes. We go places and get pissed when things aren't like back home. Well, that's the point of travel. NEW things, people, culture. If you don't want that, save your money and stay home. Don't blame an entire country of people!
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Its funny - but the "speak my language thing" is bigger in bigger countries. Italy, France and well USA. In Denmark we KNOW you don't know our language - its freaking impossible for foreigners to learn - which is why we constantly try to teach you to say "rødgrød med fløde" - because no one really can unless they are either great at hearing the differences in pronouncations or just plain lucky. So it'll be a bunch of danes standing around smiling and joking about new phrases to teach you - in a kind manner that is.
In Denmark if you approach a person speaking english and they are well.... 10-55 yrs old - there is a great possibility of them being able to understand and respond to what you want.
In Germany I've met a lot of germans who are willing to respond in any way possible, from sign language to gestures... but in France you can enter a bakery, asking for "deux baguettes" (two long breads) in french (learned some in school) and get the killer ye for you way of speaking. VERY ANNOYING. But this was a small town with like a 40.000 population - I don't know how Paris would be.
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