The first true language barrier...or rather wall

Our travels thus far have taken us through areas where english is widely spoken and there was little incentive to learn the language when everyone finds it easier to communicate in english. We have been feeling quite guilty that we never made much progress with hindi or nepali...but some mandarin basics are going to be a must as we have been encountering very little english. (Of course, people are speaking tibetan in this region...but we are only here for a week so we have only picked up the basic greetings). Meals are usually the most fun, especially since Tim and I opt to eat in the hole-in-the-wall restaurants with no english menu, and perhaps no menu at all. In one restaurant, the woman started pulling items out of the fridge and we selected our ingredients through frosty, plastic bags. Greens-yes! noodles-YES! eggs-yes! unidentifiable meat-(meaghan-NO!!....tim-YES!!) Lots of pointing, hand motions and nods has led to some delicious meals! You never know what it will look like once it has all been combined, but that is part of the excitement of it all! So, we have been studying our numbers, greetings, and basic questions to alleviate some of these issues in the future...and to try not to be such the ugly american tourist expecting everyone to speak english!