While basic English phrases, hand gestures, and a good sense of humor will get you further than you might expect, things will be a lot easier with a few local words in your back pocket.

New York University. "Neural circuits used in processing basic linguistic phrases identified." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 1 March 2011. <www.sciencedaily.com / releases / 2011 / 02 / 110228151752 ...