Job Discussion Forums

[Munchen]

Let's face it, unless you're in Italy with a good job, the State Dept. or some such, one of the main joys of being Italy is simply to participate in speaking the Italian language. I want to the Universita Italiana per Stranieri in Perugia many years ago and would have never thought of "work" so to speak.
Yes, I was lucky to be on the GI Bill. One got to know all the great little family restaurants where you could eat for about $1.00 US, the Mensa Populare, cost US .50 for a meal. It was a Communist establishment and you took whatever was being offered any particular day.
The white wine tasted almost like vinegar. There's where one would meet some die-hard locals.
I did feel useful once when an Italian student had to study his math course with an English textbook and he asked me to translate "solo le parole" and the meaning got through.
Just think here's the place where Italian is the world so why not just go there, take a course in Italian and soak up the culture, go to the movies, hear American actors speaking Italian!!
No, never found many really interested in "English" at all!! Wouldn't have dreamt of imposing English because I wished to get a good foundation in Italian! Just try to blend in. You're in their world there!

[Munchen]

Just read your message. English of course is the common denominator among Scandinavians and closely related to other Anglo-Saxon cultures, so
many from these areas have long learned to speak English to communicate more efficiently amongst themselves. All that I met spoke with native fluency. Some from rural areas, not as great, but still excellent.
Like who speaks Finnish, for example, a very difficult language.
All the Finnish people I've met speak good English. Catch my drift?