My mother had many, many talents, but it was a longstanding family joke that she was hopeless at languages!! Imagine that, given the life of travelling she had with my dad! This was NOT to say that she couldn't make herself understood in foreign countries though... In fact, she was legendary in her ability to be understood the world over, no matter what the language, no matter what the location! She would work her magic, gesturing dramatically, throwing in a few keywords with butchered pronunciations that would make us cringe, and yet walk away with exactly what she needed (and often more!). Her charm, her smile, her playful flirtiness, her charisma would always result in exactly what she needed... Wherever she went, she DID speak the language -- the Language of embracing Life and all that it presented to her! She didn't let mere linguistic barriers get in her way... she MADE THINGS HAPPEN, in true Joan fashion!! It was inspiring to watch her in action, and we learned a lot. I feel it helped make us who we are today!!