Translating "Vegan Meal Requirements" During World Travels

Vegans and vegetarians frequently struggle when it comes to
describing their dietary restrictions to the waitstaff at any local
restaurant. This situation becomes even more out of hand when
traveling abroad! Many travelers do not speak the language of their
intended destination country. Vegans may find it extremely frustrating
to attempt to describe to their international waiter, that they not
only do not eat meat, but also can not eat eggs, cheese, or other
animal byproducts in their vegetable plate. As a vegan myself, I have
come across several, wonderful resources to alleviate this issue.One
option is to take a foreign language class at an adult education
center prior to your trip. I frequently sign up for these classes
before embarking on an international journey. These classes are
typically about 10 weeks in length. Many of these programs are focused
on the traveler in mind. They even may throw in a few local, culture
lessons regarding communication skills, both verbal and non-verbal. An
Arabic course, for example, includes learning to read and write the
script. That is useful while looking at menu items. Common words
taught in a language class for travelers include: words for common
vegetables, beverages, and the phrases "I eat.." or "I would like to
order...". Class handouts and textbooks should be taken along on your
vacation! It is a great befit that these classes are usually offered
by native speakers. This helps the students with both listening to the
native accent and feedback on their pronunciation skills.Another
option is to study a foreign language using a CD or DVD, home study
course. This method allows you to study at your own pace. The courses
provide exams or quizzes for each lesson. Some of these programs
include recording capabilities so that the students may practice their
pronunciation and hear their voice played back with the proper accent.
These course studies are easy to find. Even your local mall sometimes
has the vendor selling these products through a kiosk. Special
attention can be focused on learning the words and phrases of
importance to vegan travelers such as names of vegetables, "I do not
eat..", and "I am vegan..".A couple of books in print also exist for
help in foreign language translation. "Vegan Passport" translates
phrases such as "I am vegan", "I do not eat chicken, dairy
products,..", and more in approximately 120 of the worlds' languages.
"PointIt" is a photo guide. It contains many travel-related items. The
most relevant pages for vegans would be the pages which consist of
vegetable and grains photos. A veggie-friendly traveler need only to
point to the vegetables they enjoy and their international waiter will
know what the customer would like to eat for their meal. No foreign
language skills are required.My final suggestion is to search online
for software language translation tools. Yahoo Babelfish is one of
them. You simply enter a phrase such as " I would like to order
vegetable soup". Select the language you wish to translate from and
translate to. The selected translated phrase appears.As you can now
see, there are many options for vegans to communicate their dining
needs during travel, without fear of being misunderstood!For more
information on vegan travel tips, see my EBook "How To Travel The
World As A Vegan" at http://www.traveltheworldasavegan.com