I had to rush in here before everybody told me to post only in French so I go away!! I just ain't gonna post or respond in a language other than English. Learning languages is pretty easy for me, though. I can understand Polish, Korean, and one Chinese dialect but can't speak them at all. I travel a bunch and listen with care and try to get into the local culture and this means picking up the language. I am going to Denmark, Finland, Russia, and Sweden next year and have tapes I listen to in the car.
What I really love is when some guy tries to hit on me in France for instance thinking this dumb blonde can't understand what I am saying. In the Metro a guy said something really offensive to me in French and turned to his buddies and laughed saying something like "this kid has a cute ass but is really dumb". I said in French to him, "I know your girl friend and I am going to call her in 10 minutes and tell her what you just said to me". The guy was standing there with his mouth open.
Now, if I can just understand what the cowboys in this town are saying to me, I'm home free!!!!