"It was mostly circumstantial." Daniel shrugs, oddly self-conscious, and stares down into his glass. "I went on a lot of digs as a kid and then later when I was, um, older, and you sort of had to get past the language barriers somehow."

He takes a larger gulp of his Irish coffee than is strictly necessary. "And, uh, usually the first thing you learn is how to ask if someone speaks English."