What Campaign Setting for your Module?

[Uatu]

Ha ha... Good thing you stayed silent for that one... (Good point about the helmet, though - wouldn't make much sense to guide someone's weapons to your head).

Bet the old lady has to explain that to Americans about 364 times every day!

Hey - your wife is like an inch shorter than me (on a good day)!

[manikus]

My experiences in Italy weren't as good as far as staying unrecognized. I was significantly taller and lighter skinned than the average Italian. But again, my wife came to the rescue. By the time I came for a visit she had been living in Venice for several months and her textbook Italian had made the transition to fluency. So, in our many long phone conversations, i had been practicing saying thanks and no thanks for a while by the time the plane touched down.
Unlike in Norway, where the norm is to be quiet and respectful, the Italians expect a verbal acknowledgment after just about each sentence with a lot of head and arm movement. Since most Americans do not fit into either one of these categories, you can see why they would stick out in the two countries. A little imitation went a long way. In Italy, they knew I wasn't Italian, though I could converse with shopkeeps, restaurateurs and passer-bys on the street quite well enough, I'd like to think that I passed for European or at least Canadian.

In case you're wondering, my wife speaks English, Norwegian/Swedish (they're are very similar), Italian, Spanish and Portugese. She understands Danish and a bit of German, but isn't fluent. She's a good gal to have around on a trip, that's for sure.

[Uatu]

Wow - she knows several more languages than I do! (But a lot of people from northern Europe seem to be multilingual by default...)

Hmm - what do Italians say after each sentence for acknowledgement? (In Japan, they expect something like this as well - just say "hai" and nod your head every so often or they will stop after a while and ask if you are listening/paying attention )

[manikus]

In Italy, all the younger folk say "ya", but often as not will start telling their side of whatever it is being discussed. The older generation said something else, but I can't remember what it was. If my wife was home, I'd ask her.

She speaks a few more languages than I do as well. Aside from English, we have none of hte other languages in common.

[Uatu]

Hmm - I have none of the language your wife speaks in common except English, too (well, I tried to learn German once, but it didn't work, so that doesn't count...)

[manikus]

Same with me and German. I studied it for a year in grade school and only remember how to say yes and no, count to nine and ask someone their name. I read it a little better, but that was self-taught in college so I could better get at what the German philosophers were saying.

[Uatu]

Hmm - your German sounds like my German (but better, since you can actually read!)

(I studied for 6 years, though... Embarrassingly...)

[manikus]

I studied French for a very long time and used to be fluent, but haven't used it in... OMG! it's been close to 20 years. Now, I feel really old. I was fluent in French both verbally and written/reading. That's gone now. Same thing for Russian and Latin. What I once had, I no longer have. Oh well, c'est la vie.

[Uatu]

Hmm - gone? As in totally gone? Does it really go away that much?

My German disappeared completely, but that's because I was never good at it in the first place... My better languages didn't disappear completely, only partially

And, uh, yeah, cessed luh vee?

[Melechesh]

german is a very hard language to learn. i speak swiss-german (very near to the german-german) but for us its also hard to learn to speak german-german 100% correct.

because we have 4 languages in switzerland we have to learn 4 languages in school (german, french, italian, english), but can speak french,italian and english only a little bit.

also a speak a little, little bit swedish and chinese (because my parents are in china for 3 years).

Wow - she knows several more languages than I do! (But a lot of people from northern Europe seem to be multilingual by default...)

in some parts of europe you can drive 2 hours with the car and you have to speak 3 different languages. in the usa you have only english, this is why so many europeans are multilingual.

switzerland is the best example: in our little nation (479.8/sq mi) we have 4 different languages: french, german, italian, romansh ( you really dont have to know this language ) and about 30 different dialects. you can imagine that you are lost if you aren't multilingual.