[firedog23]

To not travel to another country because you don't speak the language is only robbing yourself of seeing the world. Nobody wants you to know their language but if you show a sincere effort to communicate in their language, even at a basic level will earn you a lot of patience from the locals.  Also, to expect someone to know English just so they can visit the states is crazy. They are visiting, not trying to gain citizenship.

I say this from experience and living in 8 different countries and doing my best to use their language.

Also, there are places in France that welcome Americans with open arms and meet us more than halfway when it comes to language. The biggest reason for this, we are not German and they still remember what our grandfathers did back in WWII.

[tschmidlin]

I've found people to be very nice when I've traveled and struggled with the language.  The worst is when you're really trying and they insist on switching to English because your Italian is so bad.

Although I still think it is weird to go to a Mexican restaurant in the US and say por favor and gracias, it just doesn't feel right to me.

[morticaixavier]

I worked at a taco bell in NM while I was in college and most of the other folks that worked there were at least raised speaking spanish at home. By the time I left there were a half dozen native spanish speaking mexican/americans pronouncing taco, burrito and quesadilla with a bad american in mexico (cwesadilia) accent. I actually have decent spanish pronunciation but I also have a terrible sense of humor. 

[garc_mall]

I've found people to be very nice when I've traveled and struggled with the language.  The worst is when you're really trying and they insist on switching to English because your Italian is so bad.

The last time I was in Korea (I speak pretty good Korean) I always had waitresses in restaurants try to speak to me in English. I usually had to insist that they spoke Korean, because I couldn't understand their English.

And on topic...

My wife speaks french, and loves France. Being in the US Army, I love to push her buttons about the french rifle-droppers. It always gets her going 

[firedog23]

And one experience repeated many times in Japan is they wanted to speak English because it was conversational and not academic.

[Slowbrew]

I've found people to be very nice when I've traveled and struggled with the language.  The worst is when you're really trying and they insist on switching to English because your Italian is so bad.

Although I still think it is weird to go to a Mexican restaurant in the US and say por favor and gracias, it just doesn't feel right to me.

We visit our local Mexican restaurant at least once a week.  The kids call it our second kitchen.  You know the one with good food.  Anyway, I goaded my son into asking for a job so he could learn the language faster.  Our waiter walked up and Mike asked, in Spanish, for a job.  The waiter didn't think he was serious at first but they didn't have a job for him anyway.  The funny outcome of this is that Mike is now required, by the entire wait staff, to speak only Spanish at the table.  Ironically, his Spanish is getting much better.

Long story short, some nights they even expect the old German/English guy with zero second language skills to converse in Spanish.  Please and Thank You are easy and perfectly normal in either language for us.  My wife throws them a curve ball by conversing in French.  They do all know us by name though and it makes for very entertaining meals.

Paul

[corkybstewart]

We've traveled all over Europe and the only place we've ever experienced rudeness was in Italy back in 1988 and it was so widespread that I'll never go there again.
Language-wise one of my funniest experiences was visiting London with my 2 sisters, a BIL and my new wife.  She had lived in London for a couple of years and was the only person in the group who understood British English so she had to translate everything for us.

[firedog23]

Living in England is a matter of trying to slow down what you hear.  After 5 years I still struggle with parts of Suffolk (mainly the out in the country parts) let alone the rest of the country.

[euge]

We've traveled all over Europe and the only place we've ever experienced rudeness was in Italy back in 1988 and it was so widespread that I'll never go there again.
Language-wise one of my funniest experiences was visiting London with my 2 sisters, a BIL and my new wife.  She had lived in London for a couple of years and was the only person in the group who understood British English so she had to translate everything for us.

haha I love it!

Watching travel shows and they have subtitles for when the Brits are speaking. And Cajuns too. Hilarious.

[beersk]

it was the Americans that were loud, fat, and demanding.

Hey...I resemble that remark...I mean resent  

Of course, the problem is that in the touristy places, the waiters etc really ARE jerks, and in a lot of the shops near touristy areas the customer service is HORRIBLE. Ya just gotta go a little further out, is all.

Same here in the States, and not to just the foreign tourisrts, but Americans as well.

My girlfriend's sister was in town for xmas and she works in a restaurant in Times Square in NYC.  She was telling us how foreign people come in all the time and don't speak English and how they're rude if you don't understand THEM.  She was saying how when they do that, she just walks away.  She was b****ing about how French people smell and get all rude when you can't understand them.  I was thinking to myself, "Americans are the same, except we wear tons of nasty smelling perfume and think the world is made for us."  She was annoying the piss out of me, ruined my night, unfortunately.
I pretty much think a**holes are going to be anywhere you go.  Americans are a special kind of a**hole with the "come to our country, speak English or die, follow OUR traditions, blah blah blah" attitude.  

Whatever.

[weithman5]

its not that i don't travel to foreign countries (i was in the navy for goodness sake) i just feel uncomfortable if i don't know the language.  i have made efforts, and fortunately my wife was a language major and she keeps me out of trouble (or she is contracting a hit ;D0

hopefully will be going to paris with my wife (flight attendant and will have to work ) in the next few months

incidentally, just to pick on the french for no good reason. go to you tube and search french missile test.you have to wait till near the end but it is worth it.

[Kit B]

Wow...Change of pants, anyone?

[firedog23]

It would have of no big issue. It was filled with hundreds of tiny white flags! 

[theoman]

Being a rude tourist is one thing, but a life without exploiting stereotypes would just be boring.

[phillamb168]

Being a rude tourist is one thing, but a life without exploiting stereotypes would just be boring.

You just say that because you eat frites all the time.