Hello again,
Recently I was at the laundrette. My washing was in the dryer when a man walked in. He looked at the machines and I could tell he needed help. I was the only person there so I hoped his German was clear.
He didn't speak to me - he started talking into his phone. That was good, because I had no idea what he was saying! Then he walked over to me, pressed a button and his phone talked to me in German and I could read it on the screen, too. He needed help using the washing machines.
Then he spoke into the phone again. I stopped him and asked, "English?". It didn't help - he just changed the language in the app. I think he spoke Italian.
Hmmm...
We went to a machine and I used my hands to show he should put his washing in. After choosing the program on the machine, I pointed to the number of this machine and walked to the panel where you pay. There is a document showing the numbers and prices of everything, so I pointed to his machine number and the cost and then to the money slots. He got out his wallet.
Ooops! Stop!! He didn't have any washing powder (or liquid) with him. You can buy some there, so I held up the cup, with a questioning look. He nodded, so I pointed to the new information on the price list.
He added the money and I showed him which buttons to press. Then we went to his machine with the washing powder, he added it and started the machine.
Yay 😀!
I sat back down, waiting for my load to finish. He looked around and then got out his phone and spoke into it again. Were there dryers, too?
I followed nearly the same process - showing him a dryer, pointing to the number and then going to the price list, pointing to the price and the dryer button before going back to the dryer to show him the 'start' button.
It was a great experience, realising how little we need language to communicate.
May I ask - what would you have done in that situation? Have you ever needed to interact with someone who didn't speak any language that you know? What did you do? I would love to hear your experiences.
'Bye for today,
Andrea
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