Thread:Kiadony/@comment-5916303-20150313162115/@comment-1746153-20150321124603

You'd get along well with my former school's principal, he did a lot of etymological research and was really into it. However, he also believed that the word's origin had a special significance, to the point of mystifying it. But then again, by the time I finished school, I was utterly convinced that all teachers are crazy.

As for traveling, it's common for Russians to speak he mix of Russian and broken English (and/or German) anywhere they go, and it usually works, lol. In my case, it might be a mix of English and broken other language if the person I speak to doesn't know English well.

In Poland, I was once asking around whether the shops had any change, but they couldn't understand it until I asked in Russian, because the word turned out to be almost identical. In Germany, I once really needed Band-Aids, so I ran into a pharmacy screaming "Band-Aids?", and the shop assistant pointed at them. However, while paying, I said, "alles" ("that's all") in German when she asked, she was somehow surprised. And such things happen a lot.