It wasn't.
There were words I had to learn very quickly (like beer, and breakfast). And my dictionary was soon well-thumbed and a little tatty.
But often I had to fall back on sign language and 'acting'. Now I'm home, with an ebook to think about, I'm trying find a way to write about that. The problem: I begin with the words I wanted to say but couldn't, and now must find a way to describe my acting-efforts using words in such a way that the original meaning becomes clear.
I'll give you some examples. How would you 'act':
- Do I need to go to the bus station to organise a ticket to Santa Clara, or will it be fine if I just turn up tomorrow?
- Thank you for organising horse-riding. Please tell me they're not going to gallop because I might fall off if they do?
- I'm sorry I'm late for breakfast, but I was out drinking mojitos and listening to music last night.
- How kind of you to get me a birthday cake. How do I cut it?
(The answer to the last question - the woman in the casa just plunged plunged a knife in, scattering icing, and giving me a look that said, 'You might be able to travel round the world, but what sort of woman doesn't know how to cut a cake!)
Just out of interest, how would you mime the horse-riding query?
