Communicating Abroad

By Elizabeth Gregory

Although I typically travel to foreign countries where I speak the language (or know that there are many English speakers nearby), on occasion I have found myself in places where it has proven difficult to communicate. Here are some helpful hints to getting by in a place where you don't speak the language but still need to communicate:

Know before you go:

• Simple phrases like "hello", "excuse me", "please", "thank you", "how much", etc. make a huge difference and usually people are nicer to you if they see you're not understanding but are making an effort to try a few words.
• How the money system works (in other words denominations of coins, etc). Not all countries have a number printed on the coin (hello, US). You'll be better off figuring it out in advance than having someone try to explain something you won't understand anyway.
• Where you will be staying. If possible have the address printed out on a piece of paper so you can show it to any taxi driver and politely smile.

Other suggestions:

• Picture cards – I've seen this in travel stores. Basically it's a laminated piece of plastic about the size of a placemat. There are all kinds of pictures on it (fruits, vegetables, types of meat, etc.). Although I don't know anyone who has tried this, it seems like a good idea.
• Small phrase book – these are very useful and if you don't want to embarrass yourself trying to speak the language you can always point to the particular phrase in the book.
• When in doubt act it out. I've heard and experienced so many cases of this overseas. You'd be amazed at how much quicker you can get your point across with some mime skills included.