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Sat 09 Sep 2009Lost in translation
MAGAN'S WORLD:A JAPANESE GIRL approached me on the street in Tralee recently, wanting to visit “your mutton chops”. It took three repetitions and some mime before I worked out she was looking for a mountaineering shop. While the interaction was embarrassing for her, I rather enjoyed the challenge of stretching my mind into lateral contortions on her behalf.
Communicating is at the heart of travel. More than anything else, it might be what differentiates travel from tourism: the willingness, or at least the need, to communicate with those around you – being separated from the cosseted tourist bubble and required to make oneself understood.
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