The communication skills of the well-prepared traveller:

Picture this...I'm driving my car in peak hour traffic, my face screwed up in concentration ( and frustration!) with some very unfamiliar sounds issuing forth from my mouth.

Am I having a fit? ...Am I experiencing road rage? Or have I gone completely mad this time?!

No!! I'm learning Burmese!

I love the way that statement sounds so confident and accomplished,when in actual fact I'm still grappling with numbers one to ten, and trying to come to terms with the fact that there are multiple words for goodbye in Burmese.

My husband very kindly downloaded 'Burmese By Ear' on to my iphone so I can listen to it any time......GREAT!

Whilst I have lots of experience with advanced charades (which has always stood me in good stead in various countries, despite the emabarassment I have caused my daughters!) I do like to attempt a few of the basic words everywhere I go.

The Burmese script is beautiful to look at but totally meaningless to me of course. Like most asian languages the finer nuances can be your undoing - the difference between 'underwear' and 'nine' is only an inflection away!

I will persevere, especially when I get to the section on shopping, but the awful truth is that I will probably only confuse myself and the locals. Still at least I will have tried!!!

Hokay! That's not goodbye: it's 'yes' - much easier to remember than the multiple words for goodbye - and now you know one word of Burmese! Congratulations!

Dianne