Learning the Language

Everywhere that they travel, Anne and Mark are amazed by the ability of the people they meet to communicate in multiple languages.  Even more amazing is the fact that even though they speak only one language, nearly everywhere they have visited Anne and Mark have found at least one person who spoke their native tongue.  This was the case last weekend when Anne and Mark took the three hour flight to the United Kingdom.

Tower of London to the right (even though it is only about 30 feet high, they call it a 'tower' - part of the language barrier Anne and Mark encountered), Tower Bridge on the left in the distance.

Now, let us be clear to not overstate the point.  Anne and Mark could certainly not understand everything they heard on this trip (it's not like traveling to Italy or Turkey).  The language used in the U.K. sounds a bit like an interview of Mick Jagger from the 1960s, an interview with Ozzy Osbourne from today, or any dialogue from the film "Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels."  Essentially, the speaker belts out 30 or 40 seconds of sounds - usually it sounds as if it is all one word - and then signals that he or she is finished speaking by saying "Itn't it?" or "Aye, mate?"  At this point, it is best to smile at the speaker and hope he or she moves on.

View of Big Ben (named after a fat guy named Ben) and the houses of Parliament (named after houses of Parliament).  You can see some of the protesters who bolluxed Anne and Mark's sight seeing on Saturday.

Granted, it would be easier if they spoke the same language that we speak in the U.S., but there is a certain charm to visiting places and having no idea what is going on.  For example, Anne and Mark landed at the airport around 8 in the morning and saw a large group of drunk men not properly dressed for the weather.

It's a little breezy for that outfit, itn't it lads?

But you got to love local customs.  Anne and Mark sought out some of them.

Drinking beer = international custom.  Drinking beer with Union Jacks in the background = U.K. custom

But all in all, it was great to experience a new culture and see the attempts they are making in the U.K. to speak our language.  All of the attempts are valiant, but some are clearly more successful than others.  For example, it is good to identify a trash can and label it as such.  Maybe even call it a "bin" for "rubbish."  I think we could work with that.

Ok, good try, but this is a gigantic failure.  "Trash" goes in the can, but "litter" goes on the ground.

I guess it could have been worse....

Ok... looks like we might have to start from scratch on this language thing...