"Help! I don't know that word!"

A white couple were practising their Khmer while shopping for needed household items at the Toul Tem Poung (or popularly known as "Russian") Market.  The shop lady was very kind and friendly, speaking slowly and clearly to make sure her potential customers could understand her.  

The couple got as far as telling the shop lady they needed a "rack".  The smiling shop lady then asked, "What kind of rack do you need?  Is it for shoes or plates?"  Suddenly, the white lady and her husband looked at each other blankly.  The shop lady repeated the question 2 more times, still patient and smiling.  The couple was dumbfounded!  Apparently, their limited vocabulary didn't include the words "shoes" and "plates".

I had to pass them to get where I was going.  I decided to be a kind soul and help them out.  I repeated the shop lady's question in English for the white couple, as I walked past them.  Suddenly, both their faces lit up in bright smiles!  "Thank you!" the husband said to me. 

 I didn't stay to find out if the sale was completed, but what a difference vocabulary makes when learning a language!  Communication isn't complete until both sides have understood each other.  It's hard work, whether we use a spoken language or body language.  But when we understand what the other is trying to say, a whole world opens up before us.

Have fun!