Years ago, I moved to a place where I didn't speak the language.
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Years ago, I moved to a place where I didn't speak the language. My initial strategy for dealing with interactions I didn't understand was to simply say "no." I figured this was safe - at least I wouldn't agree to something I didn't want. One day, as I was leaving my apartment with a friend, the guy across the hall asked me a question. "No," I said. He looked like I'd spit in his face then retreated to his apartment. My friend, dumbfounded, asked "Why did you just tell him you're not neighbors?"
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Years ago, I moved to a place where I didn't speak the language. My initial strategy for dealing with interactions I didn't understand was to simply say "no." I figured this was safe - at least I wouldn't agree to something I didn't want. One day, as I was leaving my apartment with a friend, the guy across the hall asked me a question. "No," I said. He looked like I'd spit in his face then retreated to his apartment. My friend, dumbfounded, asked "Why did you just tell him you're not neighbors?"
Many times did I step in it trying to use very basic Polish. There was a time when a waitress asked me if I needed help and I wanted to tell her "I'm going to the bathroom," but the expression on her face indicated that it came out as "I'm peeing my pants."
