Wednesday, June 3, 2015

Language in Germany

One thing that has surprised me in Staufen is that almost nobody I have interacted with speaks English.  Unlike Turkey, where most spoke as least some when asked, at hotels and restaurants, everything is in German and little English is spoken.  I am surprised given the level of tourism, but it also a blessing/challenge.  While it may bother some, I have travelled so much internationally, I am used to being in places where I don't speak the language.  I also find it a challenge to work through.  Fortunately, there is not much on a German menu I won't eat and if they bring me something different that I expected, Oh well. 

The ironic part is while they don't understand my English, they do generally understand my rudimentary Spanish.  Now, I need to be honest, I don't speak Spanish, I speak travel Spanish.  Words and phrases around hotels, meals, etc.  I have traveled so much in Spanish and Portuguese speaking countries, what words and phrases I speak, I can usually pronounce clearly enough that they think I can speak Spanish.  I will be interested to see if this changes as I visit other areas.

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