spanish

As you sit in the back of a rickety taxi, winding higher and higher through the northern Andes and away from civilization, you may nervously wonder if you should have picked a more generic vacation spot. Rest assured. You’ll know you’re in the right place when you see the thirteen million hand-planted evergreens lining the mountains of Granja Porcón, Peru’s most impressive cooperative community.

(left to right) Simon and Hector Rodriguez stand at the “end of the earth,” Finisterre, Spain, after completing the 500-mile trek to Santiago along the Way of St. James. (kj)Hector Rodriguez walks through an ancient Spanish town, sweat gathering on his forehead as the summer sun pounds down. He sees the cracked stained glass in a church window and gets a stamp in his compostela. He waves to some people, the shells on their backpacks marking them as pilgrims. And then he keeps walking; he’s got another 20 kilometers to go today.

Going to Moscow and asking—in English—where to find an authentic local restaurant may just get you directions to the nearest bathroom. What do you say when your foreign travels surround you with equally foreign languages? English may be the international language spoken among airline pilots, but it certainly isn’t going to help you land the respect of the local waiter.