It would be a few weeks and bumbling through several languages later before we realized this simple truth while traveling: you’d be surprised how much you can do in a restaurant without language. At least in the countries we’ve been to, restaurants operate in pretty much the same way. They all follow what I’ve come to know as, “The Script.” It goes something like this: You walk in. You say hello. They ask you how many people, sometimes if you want to sit inside or outside (usually with helpful hand gestures). Then, they physically walk you to an available table and point. You sit down. The first thing they’ll ask…

In being in countries where we didn’t speak the language for the first time, there is a progression for learning how to get around. First, we relied on someone else. That person was Mary. In Poland, this worked very well. We didn’t have to do anything, really, except answer her questions and convince her that we truly didn’t want fourth helpings. In Slovakia, however, that safety net grew some holes. The moment we realized this was probably while we were trying to figure out how to get to the castle that was right in front of us. Like really, actually right in front of us propped up on a hill.…