Language Barrier

Today I went to Metz, France and now I finally know how other people feel when they visit a foreign country. I felt frustrated most of the day by my inability to communicate with other people. I know maybe five words in French and I understand NONE of it! I can figure out sign meanings and some things do not require speaking - the point and gesture methods work for ordering food, for example. However, if you want to ask where a good restaurant is, that doesn't work. Walking around a town for a few hours on a holiday day didn't require me to interact with too many people anyway, so I made the best of it.

In Germany, I'm so used to being able to understand 80% of what is being said, and being able to make myself understood. I do not like the feeling of not being able to communicate. I think if I lived in France or Italy, I'd probably feel a lot more homesick than I do here in Germany. Eventually I'd pick up enough to get by, but I probably wouldn't enjoy myself very much. Posted by Jinglelady at December 26, 2003 08:45 PM | Previous Blog | TrackBack