Instead I took Latin, while thats sometimes useful, after relocation, there's many Spanish speakers.
I'm not(other than with computers), that's actually a joke I'm familiar with. Told to me by a multilingual co-worker in Europe in slightly broken English.
The Dutch menu said:
Soup du jour, banana split. My co-worker was too hung up on there being no translation to even look at the menu. He'd been in Amsterdam with me for a while and all the menus had translation. We were outside the city and this place didn't have an English menu. It wouldn't have been an issue as the folks there spoke English as well.
Had I been smart in school I would have taken another two years of Spanish in high school. I didn't see the use as no one in the area spoke anything but English and no one ever left that town.
. But Chicago has a large Polish population and heritage, so I'm actually a little surprised that "savoy golabki" wouldn't be recognized as "Cabbage Roll" to a long time Chicago-area person. Though I think I'm more familiar with the pronunciation closer to "golumpki". ...
I'm guessing it was the "all the other menu items" that were a bit out there that led to the frustration, but those examples don't strike me as much of an issue. But I get the point, it's a bit tedious to have to try to figure out what some of these descriptions really mean. I recall I did have to ask about "Lardon" at a fancy French restaurant. It's bacon!
It reminds me of ordering at restaurants in Budapest. ...
-ERD50
Yep. Several years ago I bought an expensive gift for a relative from a local specialty shop. It was advertised as coming with a $50 gift card. A few months later I took the card in to make a purchase and was informed that it had expired. The expiration date was shown in very tiny mice-type on the back of the card. It turned out I had two whole weeksto use the card before it expired. When I protested that a 'gift' card should not have an expiration date or it wasn't much of a gift, I was basically told 'to bad fellow'.
I never went back.
A big part of the problem if one is a native English speaking American is that English is now the language others use to communicate with each others including us. When a Turk and a Swede conduct business together they probably do it in English. So, the need to learn another language for Americans is just not that great. When I try to speak Italian to an Italian what I get is "Please, speak English, I don't understand you when you speak Italian."
Add to that that the USA is vast geographically so there is less need for foreign travel. Want to see the Arctic? Visit Alaska. Want a tropical island? Visit Hawaii? Want a desert? Try Arizona. Want high mountains? The Rocky Mountain states fill the bill. Want to see a Bayou? Try Louisiana. Want hot, humid weather? Well... I will be tactful here. My friends in Italy have to visit multiple other countries to get similar experiences - Morocco, Norway, Tahiti, Russia, etc., etc. etc.
... I guess this all sounds like another peeve.
But hopefully, they have a good sense of humor! 
I guess I'll find out? 
I'm not(other than with computers), that's actually a joke I'm familiar with. Told to me by a multilingual co-worker in Europe in slightly broken English.
The Dutch menu said:
Soup du jour, banana split. My co-worker was too hung up on there being no translation to even look at the menu. He'd been in Amsterdam with me for a while and all the menus had translation. We were outside the city and this place didn't have an English menu. It wouldn't have been an issue as the folks there spoke English as well.
Had I been smart in school I would have taken another two years of Spanish in high school. I didn't see the use as no one in the area spoke anything but English and no one ever left that town.
Well that triggers a pet peeve of mine. You sometimes see these "statistics" that Americans (the USA variety) have a far lower % of passports than Europeans. Well sure. Maybe that would be different if we needed a passport to move from one State to another (against the Constitution). Or if we didn't have to cross an ocean or travel a thousand miles or more to get to another country. But the insinuation is that Americans are just a bunch of turnip farmers who never got off the ranch.
-ERD50
As a Canadian who for many years could travel to the US without a passport, I conclude it is lack of inquisitiveness about other cultures. I have had a passport since 1963.But the insinuation is that Americans are just a bunch of turnip farmers who never got off the ranch.
