French

In most of the countries we visited, French was the dominant language. Swiss French is different from France French. And Swiss German is a completely different language than normal German. I picked up a little French on the trip like, bonjour, parle vu ingles? I thought I would understand German a little more than French, but it was backwards, I think in large respects to me hearing Swiss German. Luckily, most people spoke at least a little English. At first it really bothered me that I couldn't speak their language; I was really self-conscious about it. Eventually it wore off and I was just another oblivious American tourist stumbling through their countries. There were a few occasions when I could tell people were really bothered that I didn't speak their language. Surprisingly a lot of people spoke Spanish, so I was able to speak to them. It was easier in French for me to read than listen, I could understand a lot by reading.