Learn a language for travel

Today I return to my normal routine of life in the United States after having spent the last week in Ecuador. I could write dozens of pages about what I've learned on the trip, but at this point my only comment will be simple: If you're planning on traveling to a country where you language isn't spoken, take the time to learn what you can about the language before you go. You don't have to be fluent, or even close, to have doors opened to you that would be closed otherwise, and it becomes much easier to have new experiences if you take the extra steps needed to communicate in a language not your own. ¡Buen viaje!