last year i spent about a month in poland without the use of a polish-english dictionary. through a polish friend i learned how to say about a dozen basic things (hello, goodbye, thank you, please and all of my favorite foods). it seems like maybe half the time i could get help from people who spoke english, and the rest of the time you just wing it.

i would also write certain things down. this helped me tons with getting train tickets and getting directions. if i were in a town with only vague directions to a place, i’d write down the address clearly and when i eventually got lost i could “ask” directions by showing people the name/address of where i was going. and with buying train tickets – i’d just write down the final destination and the time the train left and say please. i’m sure i sounded like an idiot – but i always got the right ticket and people were friendly and went out of their way to help me.