Eating Abroad

Let Them Eat "Mystery Meat"

By Arnie Greenberg
Contact Arnie at
ultours@aol.com

(Arnie and his wife Dana, seen above with Budapest in the background, travel the world...and they have a good deal of experience with food and restaurants in other lands)

I get a great number of questions from people going to Europe for the first time. It's worrying for many, especially when you go to a foreign country, where the language is different and you can't even order a meal.

Years ago on my first trip to Prague, I found myself in a restaurant in the main square and as hungry as one gets. I was given a menu by a charming hostess who smiled but didn't say a word. I glanced at it, and to my dismay, I found only Czech writing. I didn't recognize one thing. If I took a chance, I may have ordered:

An entree of Good Evening!
A side order of Parking in the rear.
A main course of $2.00 extra for sharing
And…a desert of Tipping not included.

What to do? I glanced over to the next table, where a well dressed young man had a plate of various things in front of him that looked delicious. Through my knowledge of international pointing and gesturing, with a drop of grunting, I pointed and made it known that I would have what "he" was having.

To this day, I have no idea what I ate, and when I tell people about the Czech food, I call it Mystery Meat. It was delicious!

So…it raises the question, what do we do? How do we get by?

A Few Ways to Get By...

There are many answers: You can learn the language, You can go to England, Scotland or Wales (I'm not sure about Scotland),
Australians speak some form of English,
Canada is perfect if you say "eh" after everything as in "Good morning, eh" or Can you show me a menu, eh?

You can make a list of key words in the language of your destination, such as WHERE IS THE…… Then quickly fill in the blank with a word selected by your compulsory carry on dictionary.
I did exactly that in Barcelona.

I was in the zoo and used the one phrase I knew…DONDE ESTA.
I looked up the word for camel and found DROMEDARIO, so I politely said, Donde esta dromederio? The man took me to the camels. I said "gracias," which I think was correct and everyone was happy.

You can gesture, talk slowly, point or talk loudly…you can even jump up and down as though you were playing charades.

Or…you can stay home.

But seriously, folks…most restaurants in almost every country in Europe or even Asia have SOMEONE who speaks English. Most, if not all good hotels have international staff members. In large cities they offer English menus, if you ask, politely.

The Restaurant Wants Your Business

And, let's face it, the restaurant WANTS your business. Maybe their menu has pictures (they do in parts of rural Thailand). Let the restaurant show you what they suggest.

I live in Canada. We speak French and English. With two languages we can get along in many more places. I've been to Spain, Greece, Turkey, China and maybe 50 other countries. I've never starved. The restaurant won't make fun of you. You'll get what you want or something delicious… Trust me.

Now that I told you that, let me make a confession. I went to Russia, the land of my ancestors to do some research in 1977. I wrote down key words like toilet, water, beer, thank you, please and 'you're welcome'. The problem was that I wrote them in English. Toilet was no problem. It was about the same in Russian but the alphabet was different.

How about a Glass of Beera?

I wrote in perfect Russian PIVA and asked the bartender for PEEVA as it was pronounce. He smiled and handed me a beer. I was so proud. He whispered something to his assistant. They both laughed. I thought they were just being friendly. He probably said, "another stupid tourist" Piva in Russian is pronounced BEERA.

Another time I got tired of eating in the hotel. I saw people eating in a large place and the sign said PECTOPAH so I asked my guide where the nearest PECTOPAH was. She said, "You mean RESTAURAN. In Cyrillic a P is an "R" and a C is an "S", and so on.

Language can be a deterrent. But you need not worry. I know of no visitors to Europe who ever died of starvation.

I learned French in school. We learned by memorizing French plays. Each child would be given a character in the play, and we'd memorize the French until it was second nature. The one I remember is En Chine (In China)

Mr. Goupil and Mr. Demers are in a Chinese restaurant in Beijing. They order by gesture and adore what they ate. But they don't know what it is. So they call over the water, rub their tummies and point to the empty dish. Mr. Goupil asks…Moo Moo Moo? The waiter smiles, shakes his head (no) and utters, Whoof, Whoof, Whoof !

Don't worry. It will NOT happen to you. Take a phrase book. Make a list. Be polite or just point. You'll eat some of the best meals you ever had. And if you're not sure what you ate…DON'T ASK!!!

Bon Appetite!

(Click below for more travel).


	Let Them Eat "Mystery Meat" By Arnie Greenberg Contact Arnie at ultours@aol.com (Arnie and his wife Dana, seen above with Budapest in the background, travel the world...and they have a good deal of experience with food and restaurants in other lands) I get a great number of questions from people going to Europe for the first time. It's worrying for many, especially when you go to a foreign country, where the language is different and you can't even order a meal. Years ago on my first trip to Prague, I found myself in a restaurant in the main square and as hungry as one gets. I was given a menu by a charming hostess who smiled but didn't say a word. I glanced at it, and to my dismay, I found only Czech writing. I didn't recognize one thing. If I took a chance, I may have ordered: An entree of Good Evening! A side order of Parking in the rear. A main course of $2.00 extra for sharing And…a desert of Tipping not included. What to do? I glanced over to the next table, where a well dressed young man had a plate of various things in front of him that looked delicious. Through my knowledge of international pointing and gesturing, with a drop of grunting, I pointed and made it known that I would have what "he" was having. To this day, I have no idea what I ate, and when I tell people about the Czech food, I call it Mystery Meat. It was delicious! So…it raises the question, what do we do? How do we get by? A Few Ways to Get By... There are many answers: You can learn the language, You can go to England, Scotland or Wales (I'm not sure about Scotland), Australians speak some form of English, Canada is perfect if you say "eh" after everything as in "Good morning, eh" or Can you show me a menu, eh? You can make a list of key words in the language of your destination, such as WHERE IS THE…… Then quickly fill in the blank with a word selected by your compulsory carry on dictionary. I did exactly that in Barcelona. I was in the zoo and used the one phrase I knew…DONDE ESTA. I looked up the word for camel and found DROMEDARIO, so I politely said, Donde esta dromederio? The man took me to the camels. I said "gracias," which I think was correct and everyone was happy. You can gesture, talk slowly, point or talk loudly…you can even jump up and down as though you were playing charades. Or…you can stay home. But seriously, folks…most restaurants in almost every country in Europe or even Asia have SOMEONE who speaks English. Most, if not all good hotels have international staff members. In large cities they offer English menus, if you ask, politely. The Restaurant Wants Your Business And, let's face it, the restaurant WANTS your business. Maybe their menu has pictures (they do in parts of rural Thailand). Let the restaurant show you what they suggest. I live in Canada. We speak French and English. With two languages we can get along in many more places. I've been to Spain, Greece, Turkey, China and maybe 50 other countries. I've never starved. The restaurant won't make fun of you. You'll get what you want or something delicious… Trust me. Now that I told you that, let me make a confession. I went to Russia, the land of my ancestors to do some research in 1977. I wrote down key words like toilet, water, beer, thank you, please and 'you're welcome'. The problem was that I wrote them in English. Toilet was no problem. It was about the same in Russian but the alphabet was different. How about a Glass of Beera? I wrote in perfect Russian PIVA and asked the bartender for PEEVA as it was pronounce. He smiled and handed me a beer. I was so proud. He whispered something to his assistant. They both laughed. I thought they were just being friendly. He probably said, "another stupid tourist" Piva in Russian is pronounced BEERA. Another time I got tired of eating in the hotel. I saw people eating in a large place and the sign said PECTOPAH so I asked my guide where the nearest PECTOPAH was. She said, "You mean RESTAURAN. In Cyrillic a P is an "R" and a C is an "S", and so on. Language can be a deterrent. But you need not worry. I know of no visitors to Europe who ever died of starvation. I learned French in school. We learned by memorizing French plays. Each child would be given a character in the play, and we'd memorize the French until it was second nature. The one I remember is En Chine (In China) Mr. Goupil and Mr. Demers are in a Chinese restaurant in Beijing. They order by gesture and adore what they ate. But they don't know what it is. So they call over the water, rub their tummies and point to the empty dish. Mr. Goupil asks…Moo Moo Moo? The waiter smiles, shakes his head (no) and utters, Whoof, Whoof, Whoof ! Don't worry. It will NOT happen to you. Take a phrase book. Make a list. Be polite or just point. You'll eat some of the best meals you ever had. And if you're not sure what you ate…DON'T ASK!!! Bon Appetite! (Click below for more travel).