{"id":12657,"date":"2020-01-03T13:00:23","date_gmt":"2020-01-03T13:00:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.isango.com\/theguidebook\/?p=12657"},"modified":"2020-01-02T12:19:06","modified_gmt":"2020-01-02T12:19:06","slug":"the-language-barrier-4-hilariously-awkward-moments-every-traveller-faces","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.isango.com\/theguidebook\/the-language-barrier-4-hilariously-awkward-moments-every-traveller-faces\/","title":{"rendered":"The Language Barrier: 4 Hilariously Awkward Moments Every Traveller Faces"},"content":{"rendered":"

Language! We all use it to communicate in it’s many forms.\u00a0 So how can you get by the language barrier in a country which may be unfamiliar? Perhaps by not following these hilariously awkward moments I had!\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00a01. Getting a Taxi<\/strong><\/h4>\n

\"Language-stories-ordering-a-taxi-in-Hong-Kong\"<\/p>\n

Conversational Chinese will never feature on my CV. I\u2019ve tried, I\u2019ve stumbled, and I\u2019ve flat-out failed to hear <\/em>the five tones in Mandarin, let alone say<\/em> them. \u00a0In my early twenties, I spent 3 months travelling, working and flummoxing my way through life in China. I listened to Mandarin lessons on my daily commute, and my entire flat was a maze of post-its – honestly, I couldn\u2019t move for the things (I even post-it\u2019ed my shoes).<\/p>\n

Despite the best of intentions, I sucked. I couldn’t even pronounce my address right. Several unintelligible attempts at getting a taxi, and as many long walks later, I came up with a solution. I\u2019ve tagged my cat, my passport, my luggage, even my diary with an \u2018if found, please return to…\u2019 so why not myself too?<\/p>\n

Carry around a slip of paper with your address and simple directions written out to ensure you always get home safe! Sounds silly but in China, where Uber is not still available in English, this scrap of paper was a life-saver\u2026just make sure you don\u2019t get it mixed up with your prescription for toothache medication (true story!)<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

2. Lucky-dip Ordering<\/strong><\/h4>\n

\"Food-options-on-display-outside<\/p>\n

Ordering in a foreign country can be a minefield, and you have to accept the good along with the bad. Sometimes you\u2019ll think you\u2019ve ordered the single-serve and you get the sharing platter \u2013 great! \u00a0Sometimes you\u2019ll order eggs on a hangover to find you\u2019re served something with a petrified chick inside \u2013 not so great\u2026<\/p>\n

In Britain, picture menus are synonymous with fast food joints and kebab shops, but in a foreign country, they can be our saving grace. So my recommendation is if you see a photo menu, jump on it! However, until Trip Advisor develops a filter for illustrated menus we might need a back-up plan.<\/p>\n

In China, I used an app called Memrise<\/em> to learn the characters for all the essential foods: chicken, pork, rice, noodles etc. Even if I still had no idea what to call the dish in front of me, at least I knew I wasn\u2019t eating dog (\u2026.I think).<\/p>\n

We\u2019re going to look at the best travel apps of 2020, and I think every traveller\u2019s phone ought to have at least one language app downloaded. With Google Translate if you take a photo of the menu, the app can even translate the text for you – much lighter than carrying around a dictionary!<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

3. Putting your foot in it<\/strong><\/h4>\n

\"Asking-someone-the-way-language-issues\"<\/p>\n

A little effort goes a long way, and if you get the hang of the basics before you go it\u2019ll show people you care: \u201cHello\u201d, \u201cHow are you?\u201d and \u201cThank you\u201d make all the difference.<\/p>\n

But, even with the basics under your belt, it’s inevitable you\u2019ll make a mistake or two along the way, and that\u2019s just part of the journey. A Swedish friend of mine still cringes at the memory of her first waiting shift in an elegant-dining restaurant in Sydney<\/a>. Forgetting the English for out-of-season,<\/em> she announced to her prim and proper diner that the oysters were off the menu because \u201cthey were busy making babies\u201d.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s always best to carry around a phrasebook for those times when the right words really evade you and to study up on local etiquette and customs before you travel to avoid causing offence.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

4. That Awkward Silence<\/strong><\/h4>\n

\"Awkward-silence-language-barrier\"<\/p>\n

The only thing worse than saying something inappropriate is not being able to say anything at all\u2026<\/p>\n

But it happens. There are over 6,500 languages spoken on our planet, and no one person could possibly be expected to know them all. The trick is not to care and not to let it hold you back from making friends.<\/p>\n

I once volunteered in a rural village school in Nepal. I prepared for the trip by attending a basic Nepali language course and learning the conversational fundamentals\u2026only to find out that the school children here only spoke in Sanskrit! The only thing to do in this situation was to laugh\u2026and play games. My secret weapon when I travel is a pack of cards. Any game can be taught by example, and card games are a great way of socialising with locals without relying on words.<\/p>\n

Another fun thing to do when words fail you entirely is to draw upon your early career as the shepherd in the school nativity play and act. Hungry? Rub your belly. Sleepy? Rub your eyes. It\u2019s as easy as that!<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

What funny predicaments have you found yourself in when abroad related to the language barrier?<\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

And how to break the language barrier down<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":12727,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[19,60],"tags":[561,1433,1436],"yoast_head":"\nThe Language Barrier: 4 Hilariously Awkward Moments Every Traveller Faces<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Trying to communicate, it's the most essential tool to travelling. So what happens when you try to break the language barrier down? 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