pgalore,
I share your dismay at your co-worker and definately hope that she was not your manager. That seems a very Dilbertish thing for a manager to do. Having been in Germany for the past two weeks, I couldn't agree more. The co-workers in my group that are having the most fun are the ones trying to learn the language. I will admit that even though I speak enough German to slog through the day, I didn't bring a dictionary with me and bought one at the first opportunity. Haben Sie Spass auf Osterreich gemacht. (feel free to correct my German, grammer is tripping me up right now).