Wherever we go in the world, there are a couple of things SWMBO and I always try to do.
1) Try to learn a couple of the basic phrases in the language of the country we're in.
It can be challenging, but it is also fun, and has provided us with many laughs.
It has also enabled us to establish a rapport with the people we meet, staff like waiters, hotel reception staff,
room service people etc etc......
We think it's a polite and respectful thing to do. Most foreign people speak, or at least have a smattering of, at
least 2 languages.
In Egypt, even the waiters in the hotels we stayed in, could have a basic conversation in English, French, Italian,
some Russian, and of course Arabic.
2)[i] Always[/i] ask the name of the waiters looking after you in the Restaurants. Again it shows respect,
and can often lead to better service, better food, and some "hidden gem" of the country you're in.
It's not too bad an idea to do it in this country either.....
Maybe it's just me being old-fashioned, but treating people as people rather than just as "foreigners" when we're in their country seems pretty basic manners. I always think how I would feel if an Ethiopian (for example) came up to me in the street, and asked for directions in Ethiopian.
Because English (both the UK and the USA version) is the language of business, air travel, ship to shore and ship to ship communication, we native English speakers expect everybody to speak it - and we're often not disappointed.
But the amazement, joy and respect we've experienced, when we've tried to say "Please can we have the bill" in Arabic for example, has been a delightful part of our holidays. Well worth the effort.