If there is one recommendation I can give to anyone planning to live abroad (aside from being patient) it would be to learn the local language. The benefits that come from taking the time to learn the language are countless. I'm not talking about mastering the language and then writing a thesis on the correct grammatical usage. What I'm referring to is learning what I refer to as 'traveler talk'...how to buy things, asking directions, describing yourself...the basics. Nothing is more frustrating when you are surrounded by ten people all with the same confused look on their face while you try to explain slowly what you need. And no, repeating the same phrase louder does not work. I've seen that method used by many a foreigner-only perpetuates the image of being rude.
Locals appreciate you taking the time to learn it-they know it's difficult. By speaking to someone in their language it shows that you're not the typical tourist-or expat for that matter. I knew a British expat in Cairo boasting that he has managed not to learn one word of Egyptian Arabic in the 15 years he lived there. Knowing a few phrases and familiarizing yourself with the pattern of speech eases the anxiety of thinking people are talking about you. It gives you independence and a sense of accomplishement. It also opens lines of communication that allow you see a part of the culture along with understand it.
The biggest perk is most likely that you begin receiving the 'local price'. Nearly every developing country mildly, or more often blatantly, charges foreigners a higher price based on the fact that they know you had to throw down a lot of money to even get there...so the idea is that paying an extra dollar for your meal isn't such big deal. Depending on how long you live in a place will indicate how lenient you are to this institutionalized inflation for foreigners. After a year in Cairo I was cutthroat with the cab drivers to the point where, when my mother visited me there, she actually told me she would disown me if I continued to argue with people over $2 USD.
Last night I got my first price as a local when I ended my Tamil lesson and received a massive discount in my tuk tuk ride home. Apparently my yelling random phrases from my notebook seemed to strike a chord with the driver. He even gave me his number should I ever want a driver in the future. This is another recommendation I have for language learners-practice with the taxi drivers. My Arabic professor at the American Univeristy in Cairo encouraged me to do this and it was the best bit of advice she gave in that it is how I gained fluency in Arabic. The drivers were bored out of their minds and appreciated the fact that a white girl would sit in the back of the cab saying things like, 'the book is red'. My methodolgy was to throw everything against the wall and saw what stuck. Eventually those sentences began to make sense and I built confidence.
I am lucky to have found a teacher within a week of arriving, thanks to my amazing boss who also began studying. My teacher's name is Ragis and she is a retired Tamil and English language teacher. She is proud of the fact that she used to teach American diplomats at the U.S. Embassy in Colombo. Her teaching style is old school in that she expects you to come to the class prepared and drills you. The lessons are to be an hour, but she often goes for an hour and half, still only charging 500 rupees regardless. This is the equivalent to about $6.
So I'm learning Tamil now. It marks my sixth language for which I've formally studied. Tamil is a Dravidian language originating from Sanskrit and one of the 22 languages spoken in India and is an official langauge in Sri Lanka and Singapore. All of the signs in Sri Lanka are marked in three languages all with different characters for their alphabets-English, Sinhalese and Tamil.
When I was in Colombo, a Sinhalese part of the island, I went to a bookshop trying to find a Tamil phrase book. Despite multiple books for Sinhalese, not one book was offered for Tamil at any of the three bookshiops I visited. I didn't find it all that surprising, but did believe it showed the feelings toward the Tamil speakers...I mean it is an official language spoken here. Even in Afghanistan you could find Pashtu books, albeit difficult, in Kabul where most speak Dari.
As I mentioned above, learning a language can teach you a lot about a culture. It can also highlight the indirect discrimination towards those that speak it, which is the case here.
Locals appreciate you taking the time to learn it-they know it's difficult. By speaking to someone in their language it shows that you're not the typical tourist-or expat for that matter. I knew a British expat in Cairo boasting that he has managed not to learn one word of Egyptian Arabic in the 15 years he lived there. Knowing a few phrases and familiarizing yourself with the pattern of speech eases the anxiety of thinking people are talking about you. It gives you independence and a sense of accomplishement. It also opens lines of communication that allow you see a part of the culture along with understand it.
The biggest perk is most likely that you begin receiving the 'local price'. Nearly every developing country mildly, or more often blatantly, charges foreigners a higher price based on the fact that they know you had to throw down a lot of money to even get there...so the idea is that paying an extra dollar for your meal isn't such big deal. Depending on how long you live in a place will indicate how lenient you are to this institutionalized inflation for foreigners. After a year in Cairo I was cutthroat with the cab drivers to the point where, when my mother visited me there, she actually told me she would disown me if I continued to argue with people over $2 USD.
Last night I got my first price as a local when I ended my Tamil lesson and received a massive discount in my tuk tuk ride home. Apparently my yelling random phrases from my notebook seemed to strike a chord with the driver. He even gave me his number should I ever want a driver in the future. This is another recommendation I have for language learners-practice with the taxi drivers. My Arabic professor at the American Univeristy in Cairo encouraged me to do this and it was the best bit of advice she gave in that it is how I gained fluency in Arabic. The drivers were bored out of their minds and appreciated the fact that a white girl would sit in the back of the cab saying things like, 'the book is red'. My methodolgy was to throw everything against the wall and saw what stuck. Eventually those sentences began to make sense and I built confidence.
I am lucky to have found a teacher within a week of arriving, thanks to my amazing boss who also began studying. My teacher's name is Ragis and she is a retired Tamil and English language teacher. She is proud of the fact that she used to teach American diplomats at the U.S. Embassy in Colombo. Her teaching style is old school in that she expects you to come to the class prepared and drills you. The lessons are to be an hour, but she often goes for an hour and half, still only charging 500 rupees regardless. This is the equivalent to about $6.
So I'm learning Tamil now. It marks my sixth language for which I've formally studied. Tamil is a Dravidian language originating from Sanskrit and one of the 22 languages spoken in India and is an official langauge in Sri Lanka and Singapore. All of the signs in Sri Lanka are marked in three languages all with different characters for their alphabets-English, Sinhalese and Tamil.
When I was in Colombo, a Sinhalese part of the island, I went to a bookshop trying to find a Tamil phrase book. Despite multiple books for Sinhalese, not one book was offered for Tamil at any of the three bookshiops I visited. I didn't find it all that surprising, but did believe it showed the feelings toward the Tamil speakers...I mean it is an official language spoken here. Even in Afghanistan you could find Pashtu books, albeit difficult, in Kabul where most speak Dari.
As I mentioned above, learning a language can teach you a lot about a culture. It can also highlight the indirect discrimination towards those that speak it, which is the case here.
