Don't lose sight of the forest for the trees
Even in a place where there aren't many trees, like Iceland.
My boyfriend and I were visiting Reykjavik, and since I was studying Icelandic at the time, I made a point of asking people to speak to me in Icelandic, even though it would have been much simpler for everyone if I'd just let them speak English. But no, I was determined.
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Do you have a language story that you'd like to share? Submit your experiences to us at livinglanguage@randomhouse.com. We'll pick our favorites and post them in this newsletter.
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Reading foreign literature
Once you've reached a basic level of fluency in your chosen language and feel the need to challenge your comprehension and/or translation skills further, it's a good idea to start exploring foreign literature.
While it might be a little intimidating to read Goethe or Márquez in the original right from the start, even spending just a few hours every week reading a page or two from a foreign work can help develop fluency. Reading literature will not only expose you to different vocabulary and grammar, but also help you gain a cultural and historical understanding of a foreign country.
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With currencies the talk of the town lately (unfortunately so for many American travelers), what better French terms to discuss than those dealing with money? As a result, this installment of Paris Travel Words and Phrases covers some useful terms that will help you get by during those very frustrating times of unfavorable exchange rates.
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 Being bilingual
Did you know that, according the 2001 U.S. Census, almost 20% of Americans speak a second language in addition to English? And are you aware of the fact that there are around 300 different languages spoken in this country, placing the U.S.'s "language diversity index" well ahead of the majority of European countries, like France or Greece?
In fact, bilingualism (speaking two languages) and multilingualism (speaking three or more languages) are perfectly natural conditions for the majority of citizens in the world, and the norm in places like India, for example.
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