Learning another language brings rewards

My wife, Mary, and I started to travel in Europe in 1985. We would rent a car and drive around for three weeks with no reservations. We soon found out that one of the best parts of traveling was interacting with people.

In 1994 we started doing house trades and became involved with people even more. As time went by, we developed a love for southern Germany and Austria and decided to try to learn to speak German.

In 2003 we made a 2-month house trade with people in Cape Town, South Africa. It was a wonderful trip! We splurged and went on safari to Inyati Private Game Reserve in Kruger National Park. There you sleep in beautiful bungalows and go on safari in the early mornings and evenings. There were usually fewer than 20 people in the camp during our stay.

When we first arrived, midday, there was only one couple and we joined them, hoping to get some information on how things worked. Initially, we were pleased that they were German and spoke very good English. They were helpful and polite, but later, in our room, we speculated from their manner that perhaps they didn’t like us very much. This was a surprise, because over the years we had found that many Germans liked the fact that we attempted to speak their language.

During our stay, people came and went, and several times German couples joined the group. When that happened, Mary and I would try to tell some of our fun travel stories in German. Most people would laugh. We weren’t sure if they were laughing at our stories or our German, but we had a good time. We were aware of the first German couple and were polite with each other but nothing more.

On our last day, as we waited to leave for Cape Town and home and the others were gathered to go on safari, our first German acquaintance got up and said he had an announcement to make.

He took each of us by the hand, then said in a loud voice that up until that time he had had a low opinion of Americans but that now, after meeting Mary and me, he thought maybe Americans were not that bad! We were the first Americans he had ever met who had taken the time and trouble to try to learn his language.

Ever since then, once or twice a year we either get an e-mail or card from Hans and Edda, our new friends from Berlin, or we send them something. We have an open invitation to visit them.

When we travel, we carry an address list with contact information. On one side is a list of Americans and on the other side are the names of at least a dozen foreign friends, mostly Germans. If we ever have a problem while traveling, we know that one of those contacts would help us if they could.

We have always made it a point to learn a little of the language of any country that we plan to visit. We always treat people with respect and a smile, and we’ve had many laughs with many people who speak another language.

We really think that the world tends to be a friendly place and, as I said before, one of the best parts of traveling is the people you meet.

GARY CANE
Carlsbad, CA