Robert Heinlein said, paraphrasing, that a large portion of being a good traveler was good manners. One recommendation he had was learning at least the words for "please," "thank you," and other common social phrases in the language of the place you visit. I adhered to this--I'm not good with languages, but anyone can learn a few phrases.

I had some trouble in Italy, when for some dumb reason my ancient reservoir of Spanish kept leaking out.

Thank God for our tour guide, who spoke all the languages. In that one long night in northern Italy when my wife was in the hospital after a heat seizure, she was like a guardian angel. The long, enthusiastic letter I sent later to her employer said as much.

The guide had to unavoidably leave--we were not her only baby chicks after all--and I spent the rest of the night in a hospital where damn few spoke English, and I had to try and ask for blankets and things. Everyone was very patient with me, and I think it was a very useful experience.

Word to the wise: When the tour group offers you the extra emergency insurance? TAKE IT. We did, and I never made a better decision. Entire experience cost us no cash at all, and my wife completely recovered.