Comments on: Learn the local language, travel on the cheap

By: Yakezie Weekly Round-up: Mother’s Day Edition | Engineer Your Finances

Mon, 10 May 2010 04:18:49 +0000

[...] Blog on whether her career is worth it and then another on Young & Thrifty on how to travel on the cheap by learning the language. Great [...]

By: Adam @ Sit Down Disco

Adam @ Sit Down Disco — Sun, 09 May 2010 00:00:46 +0000

Agree with those points totally! I can only speak Indonesia as a second language but have tried with some other languages. I find it quite difficult to pick up anything more than the numbers and a few greetings... It's probably best to learn a bunch of verbs and nouns too. .-= Adam @ Sit Down Disco´s last blog ..Myanmar (Burma): Yangon, Bago & Golden Rock =-.

By: Simple in France

Simple in France — Fri, 07 May 2010 14:49:57 +0000

OlivAmor–you’re quite right–the willingness to try is everything. I spent a week in Paris with my parents. Before we went, they studied these crazy flashcards they had plus some CD’s–very informally. My parents are not easily embarrassed;) and spoke French at every opportunity–with flagrant accents and massive errors– I completely expected to be snobbed by Paris waiters etc, but everyone seemed to think my parents were adorable.
.-= Simple in France´s last blog ..Learn the local language, travel on the cheap =-.

By: Simple in France

Simple in France — Fri, 07 May 2010 14:46:04 +0000

Rainy day saver–that’s a great example. Sometimes it’s a question of being willing to take a stab at the local language–even when you’re not sure what your saying is correct. It can lead to savings and all kinds of other interesting and unintended consequences–and I think it’s just more fun.
.-= Simple in France´s last blog ..Learn the local language, travel on the cheap =-.

By: OlivAmor

OlivAmor — Thu, 06 May 2010 23:57:07 +0000

Sometimes people are shy to speak a language they've been learning when they're travelling. I have found in my experience that many people are open & helpful even if you end up mangling some of the words & phrases (if they see that you are making a concerted effort). Great post! .-= OlivAmor´s last blog ..Relocating During a Recession: Part 2 =-.

By: Rainy-Day Saver

Rainy-Day Saver — Thu, 06 May 2010 21:42:53 +0000

I learned this trick when I went to Italy for 2 1/2 weeks in 2004. I didn’t know any Italian besides “grazie” (and a few choice curses I learned from my father) before going, but I did know Spanish. I used it to my advantage and caught on quickly enough that I could converse simply after a few days. Soon, I was the one ordering food, getting us on the train and arranging taxi trips. The moment of truth came when me and my American cousins split up into two taxis. I ‘schmoozed’ with the taxi driver, who only charged us 10 euros for the trip. But my cousins in the other taxi (who didn’t know any Italian) got stuck paying 25 euros for the same trip/distance!
.-= Rainy-Day Saver´s last blog ..Credit Card is Paid Off / Midweek Link Love =-.

By: Simple in France

Simple in France — Thu, 06 May 2010 16:21:56 +0000

Young and Thrifty–can’t wait to see your posts on travel! I’ll say it again, I’m jealous of your recent adventures.

Sam, Yes, haggling is ideal–and so is the ability to assert oneself in another language. I’ve never been bullied so far in a foreign country though, although I suppose speaking the language would be useful in that situation as well
.-= Simple in France´s last blog ..Learn the local language, travel on the cheap =-.

By: young

young — Thu, 06 May 2010 15:16:20 +0000

Hmm..not that I know of! thanks to Trisha for such a great post. I’ll have some posts myself up on cheap travel soon

By: Financial Samurai

Financial Samurai — Thu, 06 May 2010 04:56:39 +0000

Having better haggling power is key! Won't get run over and bullied as much if you speak their language. YT, did you do something to your site recently? It looks good! .-= Financial Samurai´s last blog ..Pretend You Have Arrived So You Can Become =-.