Originally Posted by
RadioGirl
People who don't speak English will work very hard to communicate with you through gestures or sign language, or to find someone who can help you in English, and they will be apologetic that they can't do better. (I find this very humbling - I'm visiting their country and they're apologizing for not speaking my language.) Someone who speaks good English will often volunteer to help you if you look the least bit lost or confused (in my case, standing on the train platform looking at the schedule).
Speaking of ways of communicating--something we saw in Japan in the 70s (whether it's still in use I don't know) that helped a lot: Restaurants with model food on display. The waitresses understood a request to go outside and point out what one was ordering. I have seen this in a *FEW* places in China these days also.