It’s an interesting world in which we live. Today, I’m traveling from Slovakia to Prague and on to Berlin, Germany for some meetings with our mission field and regional directors. While waiting in the terminal in Slain (the military base near our city that now hosts an occasional flight to Prague), I was surprised that almost half of the people checking in (only about 10 were on the flight) spoke English.
Upon further investigation, I discovered that a few were from Sweden, Norway and other countries, but that they used English in countries where their native tongue isn’t spoken. Interesting, no?
In my short walk to the connecting flight in Prague to Berlin, I spotted passports from Israel, Germany (duh!), Czech and some mid-East Arabian countries (I can’t read Arabic, but I think I can recognize the style of letters, but who really knows?).
The interesting thing is not that I contacted so many different countries in one small window of time, but that it is so normal in this part of the world to rub shoulders and bump into so many different cultures.
In some ways, I feel like I’ve been ripped off as an American in not having the opportunity to experience this earlier. Not that it’s the fault of any particular person, but it would have been cool to have had the opportunity earlier in life - like my children are getting to experience.
Upon further investigation, I discovered that a few were from Sweden, Norway and other countries, but that they used English in countries where their native tongue isn’t spoken. Interesting, no?
In my short walk to the connecting flight in Prague to Berlin, I spotted passports from Israel, Germany (duh!), Czech and some mid-East Arabian countries (I can’t read Arabic, but I think I can recognize the style of letters, but who really knows?).
The interesting thing is not that I contacted so many different countries in one small window of time, but that it is so normal in this part of the world to rub shoulders and bump into so many different cultures.
In some ways, I feel like I’ve been ripped off as an American in not having the opportunity to experience this earlier. Not that it’s the fault of any particular person, but it would have been cool to have had the opportunity earlier in life - like my children are getting to experience.
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