Coping with Language Barriers & Becoming a Charades Master

Moving to a new country is never easy.  There are foreign customs, strange foods (that may or may not agree with you), bizarre stereotypes, and every day tasks like grocery shopping or ordering a cup of coffee can become incredibly challenging.

Help.

I lived abroad in London, England for a semester and found plenty of frustrations during my stay--and that was in an English-speaking country.  A step up from that, traveling throughout France (where I speak the native language well) has been manageable.  Even other countries that I have visited in Europe have used Latin alphabets that I have been able to read.