anyone who’s traveled extensively abroad can appreciate this one…

A man decided to visit his brother who was stationed in Germany. He assumed that most Germans would speak English. But he quickly discovered that many people spoke only their native tongue, including the ticket inspector on the train.

The inspector punched his ticket, then chatted cordially for a bit, making gestures like a windmill. The man not knowing any better, simply nodded from time to time to show him that he was interested in what was being said. When the inspector had gone, a American female soldier in the compartment leaned forward and asked if he spoke German.

“No,” he confessed.

“Then that explains,” she said, “why you didn’t bat an eyelid when he told you that you were on the wrong train.”

~author unknown