Potty Mouth - German Humor in the Bathroom Queue

"Ich verstehe nur ein bisschen Deutsch" is a handy phrase that means "I understand only a little German”.  We relied on this convenient response when the residents of our host country casually put forth flowing statements and questions in their local tongue.  Sometimes we could understand enough to respond, like when we were able to give rough directions to Marienplatz, but often we were dumbfounded.

One such instance of assumed German fluency occurred while Matt was waiting in a ridiculously long Oktoberfest restroom line and a fellow reveler shared what turned out to be an entertaining joke accompanied by a hearty high-five.  A nearby friend translated the German quip, “as soon as I get through this line, I need to get back in the line again”.  This statement made one thing perfectly clear:  Toiletten-humor transcends the language barrier.

The Americanization of Asia

English Language Sign Example - Monkey EncountersBefore setting off on this trip we were most concerned about the challenges we may encounter in Asia.  Language seemed to be the biggest worry; we envisioned signs displayed in unfamiliar characters and inevitable impasses of communication.  What we encountered surprised us.

English is prevalent from spoken language to street names and store signs.  We always learn key phrases in the local tongue (hello, please, thank you, where do you keep the penicillin, etc.) and residents seem to appreciate our efforts, but we haven't really had to rely on this as much as we originally anticipated.

Having previously visited Europe and now Asia, we think it may actually be more difficult to communicate in some European countries.  We'll verify if this is really true when we head back to Europe this Fall.