Communicate in a Foreign Country

A picture is worth a thousand words, especially if you don't speak the language.

 

A while back I ran a photo-tips contest via my weblog on the O'Reilly Network (

http://www.oreillynet.com), and one of the winning entries caught my eye as a creative hack for this book.

 

The entrant, Phil Calvert, submitted this tip:

 

While travelling in Japan, I found a novel use for a digital camera. Most of the restaurants there have lifelike plastic displays of the food they serve. Since I couldn't speak Japanese, I just took a picture of what I wanted to eat and showed it to the waiter. He thought it was very funny, but I did get what I ordered.

Phil got me thinking. While travelling in a country where you don't speak or read the language, or at least not very well, why not use your camera phone for a variety of communication needs? You could even store a few standard icons in your phone's memory for when the

occasion arises. For example, a picture of a taxicab, as shown in Figure , could be quite useful when you'd like the restaurant's maitre d' to call for one to get you back to your hotel.   

                              

                                 A handy photo of a taxi

Perhaps you could add a shot of money to ask "How much?" or an image of a plane to

communicate airport, and don't forget a picture of your hotel, just in case you forget how to find it after a day's touring. The possibilities are endless. The main thing to remember is that pointing to a picture on your phone is much easier than fumbling with a language you don't know at all

1· Use body language: Pointing, gesturing and pantomiming will all help you get your point across.

·  2Carry around a pad of paper on which you can write figures and draw pictures.

 

·  3Hand your pen and paper to the person across the counter when you don't understand how much something costs; most people will get the idea and write down the number.

 

·  4Go to travel stores and look for books or laminated cards with pictures of items related to food, lodging, transportation and entertainment; these are especially useful in restaurants and hotels.

·  5Be aware that many English words and name brands are understood almost universally: American, taxi, sexy, Coca-Cola, OK. String these together creatively and you'll be surprised how much you can accomplish.

 

·  6Let pictures tell the story. Take photos of your home, your family or whatever else is important to you to share with people you meet on the road.

Source: O'Reilley | Portfolio Website| Online Portfolio