I studied Spanish for 3 years in high school, French for 2 years in college and took a crash-course in Italian for about 2 months prior to my first trip to Italy. The great thing, is that you can cobble all of these languages together and make yourself understood in many countries. Indeed, in VCE, one of my good friends drives a water-taxi. He speaks little English, but does speak a smattering of French and Spanish and, of course, Italian. We communicate beautifully using a combo of languages. In fact , a memorable day was spent with him and his wife at his family home in the country. With our mix of languages, good food and wine and comfort, it further cemented our friendship. Smiles and hand-gestures also go a long way.