You know what the real problem with American films is? Go watch the classics 12 Angry Men, to Kill a Mockingbird, The Maltese Falcon, The Dirty Dozen, etc. and you know what you'll see? Not a lot of effects and a whole lot of good acting. I went to a movie a weel ago, paid $11.50 each to get in and saw a bunch of pyrotechnics and people reading off some very unconvincing lines. It was tedious. Then we came home and watched the Turner Classic Movie channel on TV to quench our thirst for entertainment. There oughta be a law.
- Thread starter CFA123
- Start date
Perturbed Prostitute Pummels Potential Playmate?
- Status
You know what the real problem with American films is? Go watch the classics 12 Angry Men, to Kill a Mockingbird, The Maltese Falcon, The Dirty Dozen, etc. and you know what you'll see? Not a lot of effects and a whole lot of good acting. I went to a movie a weel ago, paid $11.50 each to get in and saw a bunch of pyrotechnics and people reading off some very unconvincing lines. It was tedious. Then we came home and watched the Turner Classic Movie channel on TV to quench our thirst for entertainment. There oughta be a law.
nah, it is not about the money as in the actual cost. it's the magic of numbers. so dollar menu in the USA, euro menu in euro zone and a pound menu in the UK (actually i think it's 0.99 pound).
exchange does not work here in literal sense, it is all about marketing tricks.
exchange does not work here in literal sense, it is all about marketing tricks.
It's all about profit. Shame. Eating used to be about nutrition. I'm gonna go pull up "Super Size Me" on movies on demand and wait Sandy out. The entire East Coast is shut down. No planes, no trains, no buses, federal government is shut down, schools closed....but the ABC store is open.
I like this Belgian guy more with each post!
Yes, it simply makes sense when a persons is traveling, to be able to say a few words in the local language. Firstly, it pays respect to the locals. Nothing says "I am self centered" then to talk in a non-English speaking country to locals in English. Even if it is likely that the local that the traveler speaks English, it is simply a good form. It helps break down any tensions, it helps get better prices, it makes things easier.
Secondly, it is really not that hard to pick up a few words. A person does not need many words to communicate effectively. I once put a list of 100 words that a traveler can learn, and figured that the traveler will be able to communicate about 80 to 90% of everything that the traveler wants to say. Hundred words can be learned on a long plane ride.
As far as how many languages I speak? That really depends on how drunk I am at the time.
i beg to differ. i also speak few languages and i know few (often very useless) words/expressions in others. i learn languages fairly quickly, i just LIKE words. but i know quite a few people who went to school with me and they could not even remember the simplest thing. and what they knew they were too embarrassed to use.
a girl i went to HS with got married to a german guy and lives in germany. when i last met her she had about 6 years living there. spoke zero german. even i can produce "ich habe kein geld" (now, that is a useful phrase). but she was so dumb she could not put a sentence together.
there are simply people who cannot speak any other language than their own. and probably they will never learn...
Restaurants, just lke every other business, produce a product or a service because that is the way they make their money. Like it or not, in our civilization, except for family or friends, people do things for others in order to get money so that they would give money to others to do things for them. Not a terribly difficult concept.
And I do not think that eating was ever about nutrition. Eating out is all about the taste, and the presentation. Never about nutrition. If it was about nutrition, then people would just eat peasant food.
obviously one asks if the person speaks your own language as its easier to communicate that way otherwise one is struggling to communicate in a foreign language and later find out they speak perfect English and all I needed to do was ask whether they did or not.
some people are a bit high and mighty because they have certain language skills, we are not all blessed the same
some people are a bit high and mighty because they have certain language skills, we are not all blessed the same
No, you do not understand. It is not an issue of communication; it is an issue of respect.
If an American (for example) tries to communicate in the local language with a local person, and it is obvious to the local person that the American speaks very little of the local language, then if the local person knows a bit more English than the American knows the local language, then the local person will undoubtedly invite the American to communicate in English. And the local person will undoubtedly highly appreciate it that the American tried to speak the local language. For an American to assume that the local person speaks English is self-centered and is precisely what gives American tourists the bad name (“aah, just another rich egotistic gringo…”).
This is especially true in countries which have self-esteem issues, national identity problems, and feel like that the Western (or the Northern) culture is steamrolling over the local culture. Attempting to say a few words in the local language goes a long way.
Yes pdmlynek, when I have a conversation with a local I always tell them that my Spanish is so-so. Then after a minute or so of communicating, they always tell me that my Spanish is pretty good and they always give me a big smile. You are right, if they speak even the slightest English, they try their best to accomadate me in my native tongue. No matter how good or bad their English is, I always compliment them, and they love that. It's great living here........in Santiago.....
B in Santiago
B in Santiago
It's not that serious. The problem doesn't lie with the provider as much as it does with today's miseducated consumer. I eat because it's a necessary function of life and if "presentation" is so hot daam important tell me how they still manage to sell mofongo?
Eating is all about taste to fat people. The rest of us eat to live. The more wisely we choose what we eat, the better we get to live. Not a terribly difficult concept, eh? McDonalds' doesn't sell the most hamburgers because they're so "tasty" and "presented" so well. They sell billions and billions because they're cheap and easy and apparently a lot of people are dumb and lazy enough to keep going there.
eating should be about taste to anyone. i could never understand people who drastically limit their foods not because of moral/religious reasons but because of current fads in slimming or health. as i said: i eat most of things and i mix foods as i please. it is about how tasty the meal is and whether i want to eat it.
i did go to MD few times in my life. sorry, americans, i am not impressed
i much prefer home made burger so big and juicy you can hardly open your mouth wide enough to eat it. yes, about twice a year i direct miesposo to a burger king in POP and buy something but that is just a craving fancy You do not have to be blessed with language skills, to look up, and learn how to say hello, or good morning, or thank you in a foreign language
I have met people here, who after 8+ years of living here, still do not know the Spanish word for pork (as an example). So, do they not read the little sign in the counter, or do they not read the label on their package while checking the price?
You may have no language skills at all, but if you see the same word over and over, for years on end, and you still do not know it, it is because you do not want to learn it.
Yes, you can go to Nacional, or Playero, and speak English, and you will get served at the meat counter. Now do the same, but just speak a couple of words in Spanish, instead of pointing your finger, and see what service you will get then.
@dv8, I like your German language skills, but would propose one more sentence. "hast du Geld?" After all, you do not want to marry a pauper.
BelgianK
- Status