The language struggle.

Anytime you meet someone who is living in a country where there native language is not spoken, commend them on their efforts to learn the native language. I've heard so many times in the United States, "If you are in the United States, speak English." I'm not going to get into how ridiculous that statement is but rather explain the struggle of learning a language. I came to Russia with a very minimal knowledge of the language. In order to communicate with almost anyone I have to speak in Russian. From getting a bag of chips to getting directions, it is all in Russian. Every single day I learn new words and phrases, but there is only so much I can learn in a day. In class we can go over the phrase, "Where are you from?" and I can answer not only perfectly but with wonderful pronunciation. When I am on the street and someone asks me that question, I get so nervous that I can't remember anything. Speaking a new language is like giving a presentation every single day. I learn something in class and go out and present my new knowledge the Russian citizens. There, they can understand what I said, not understand a word, or laugh at my efforts. It is definitely a self esteem booster when they say that my Russian is great, but when they don't understand it is heartbreaking.
The majority of the Russian I have learned has been through my non English speaking Russian friends. Their patience with me and effort to help me along this Russian language journey has helped my Russian skills develop tremendously. Until you have lived in a country where you don't speak the most commonly spoken language, it is impossible to understand the wide range of emotions that are experienced while trying to learn.

So I encourage you, when you are on the phone with a customer service agent who speaks English poorly, or it is hard to understand through their accent, to address them with respect and patience. Not only is talking with you great practice, but it shows that their hard work and effort to learn English really does pay off. Nothing is more frustrating than not being able to communicate and from personal experience it is really saddening when someone won't give you the opportunity to try.