I firmly believe that we all have the ability to learn additional languages, even as adults.  If you are going to travel in a foreign country, you owe it to both yourself and your nation full of hosts to give it your best effort.

Those interested in learning a language quickly might want to take a look at Tim Ferriss' technique for learning a language in three months, or his tips on getting by in a language in an hour.  I'm not sure those techniques work, as I tend to be more of the "plod along and hope it sinks in" sort.  Another good guide is available at How To Learn Any Language (also check out their excellent list of tips and tricks).

Finding a teacher or others to speak with can be invaluable.  There are also a number of websites that can help you learn a language, such as smart.fm (in fact, look me up!).  Word2Word has a large list of different language tutorials to explore.  Frankly, with some of the cool tools out there, learning a language can be really fun.

Perhaps the key to learning a language is to figure out a linguistic approach that appeals to you.  Maybe you're really into geeky linguistics and love breaking language down into parts of speech, but maybe you're really into the beauty of poetry and you just want to read Rilke in his native tongue.  Finding an approach that appeals to you may just be the key you need.

I'd also recommend all of the old-fashioned techniques, too.  As my Spanish teacher told me at my first class just a month ago: "Ver, escuchar, y hablar."  Use flashcards, speak as often as possible to others in your new language, and practice.  It really is rewarding.

Finally, I would advise carrying a good phrasebook or knowing of some good translation websites.  My favorite German translation site is the LEO Deutsch-Englisches Wörterbuch, and my favorite Spanish site is SpanishDict.  I have yet to find a great website for Dutch translation, though, and I haven't even started looking at some other languages I'll be needing in the future.

When I first spotted the small, pink can at the bottom of a beer cooler in Puerto Viejo, Costa Rica, I was reminded of the atrocity that is Sophia Coppola's horrendous champagne drink, Sophia.  I had the misfortune of trying that concoction one day during an impromptu spring picnic.  It was an overly sweet, overly fizzy disaster that I don't think either I or my partner could finish.  On closer inspection however this can turned out not to be the offender, but a new drink from Hoegaarden, innocently called Hoegarden Rosée.  It claims to be a witbier with framboise, or raspberry.  It can hardly be called a beer.

I found it utterly delicious none the less.  It pours a hazy rose, the cloudiness perhaps from the residual yeast, with lackluster head and minimal lacing.  The smell is floral and distinctively fruity, with maybe a hint of the banana esters you would expect from witbiers. Contrary to other disastrous fruit/beer pairings, (Pete's Strawberry Blonde, Blue Moon) this one had an authentic raspberry flavor.   More than a beer it taste like a light raspberry cider, a bit like Lindeman's Framboise, but lighter and more effervescent.  It leaves a crisp sweetness and you tongue actually tingles after that  first sip.  In a word, delightful.  It may be the first "chick drink" I think I have truly enjoyed.  At 3% alcohol, I believe it could use a little more heat.  Not a lot, maybe 4.5 or 5% and it would leave you with the appropriate burn to remind you that you are drinking a beer and not a soda.  On the whole, however it was very light, very fragrant, and refreshing.  I had it for breakfast and it provided a perfect accompaniment to my poached eggs and toast.

Clocking in at ₡1500, or about $3, for 25cL, the cost is extravagant.  If you think of similar fruity delights however like Lindeman's Frmboise, which runs about $6 a bottle, even in the states, it is not such a bad price.  I prefer to think of it as my special occasion go to drink.  Of course, as a wise man once said, "There is never an occasion too small to be celebrated with champagne.  Why, one could even say waking up in the morning could suffice!"  The same could be said of Hoegaarden Rosée.