Resources - Language Resources
Taking the time to learn a few phrases in a foreign language is not as daunting as it may seem, and I can guarantee the gain greatly outweighs the pain!
There are a few translation guides on the market and the one we always take with us is the Rick Steve's Phrase Book. It comes in many difference languages, is pocket sized, and is packed full of very useful phrases. Last year we left our spanish version on a café table in Barcelona and we were very sad when we realized our folly - all we could hope was that it became useful to someone else! Lonely Planet has a similar series of guides and any one that works for you will come in handy, regardless of the brand.
There are some useful apps if you have an iPhone or iPod Touch that you plan on taking with you, and if in doubt you can always use Google Translate if you have internet access.
I have also used the workbooks "French in Ten Minutes a Day" and "Spanish in Ten Minutes a Day" and they have proven themselves very useful. It really only takes a few minutes a day to get a bit of a handle on a language, and if you have the time and interest you could also consider taking a language class through a local school or college.
Whatever you choose to do will be fine - many people travel without an speck of foreign language, but if you choose to learn even a little it can have a huge impact on your trip. If you've taken the time to read this entire page I can guarantee that you'll be able to remember Thank-You and Hello in any language!
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