“I really don’t like the sound of the Austrian language,” I told my hostelmates.
“Actually, I believe they speak German,” my hostelmate replied.
As my friend Tara says, “It’s great to see you spreading your awkwardness all over Europe.”
Eleven countries into my trip, I’m making more of an effort (albeit a limited one) to learn the languages of the cities I’m visiting. You know, like the Austrian language.
German is a fierce sounding language befitting of a country with a tough military background. One of my hostelmates told a story of how his tour guide said to pay attention to the rules at the exhibit since “nothing is scarier than being yelled at in German.”
And in Spain, I’m able to use all of the Spanish I learned in high school. And by that, I mean “Hola.” As my former boss Doyle pointed out, I also know burrito, enchilada and sombrero. And therefore, I’ll be well dressed and fed.
After making a concentrated effort to use hola and gracias in Spain, I couldn’t seem to shake the phrases in Austria. Nothing like having poorly pronounced Spanish words from an Albino looking Russian while being in Austria. Graciously, the Austrians nod and politely look away from the cultural catastrophe that is me.
I’ve started asking my hostel upon check-in for at least basic phrases since I chucked my travel guide awhile back. Frankly, it’s rude to go into a country and not at least learn basic phrases. Now that I’m not going to jump around as frequently, I want to start entrenching myself a little bit more into the different cultures, so I can complacently further butcher their languages.
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You're making me proud.
Europeans just have never seen this level of awkwardness previously.
Europeans just have never seen this level of awkwardness previously.