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A limoncello down the road

By Tom, founder of Three Smiles

I built Three Smiles for holidays. Then I found myself using it most on an ordinary week at home.

It started with the widget. I put it on my home screen mostly to test it, and it showed me hello, thank you and cheers for wherever I had pinned. I did not sit down and practise. I just saw the words every time I picked up my phone, which is more often than I would like to admit.

Slowly, without trying, I started to remember them.

A table at the local Italian

When I moved into the area, I booked a table at the Italian restaurant nearby. The food was stunning, and it is run by the Italian owners.

At the end of the meal I said, “Grazie mille.” Thank you very much.

The owner looked up. “Do you speak Italian?”

“No,” I said, and I showed him the app.

He poured me a limoncello, and we said “Salute” together.

I did not ask for anything. Three words and a bit of honesty got me a limoncello and a warm welcome to the neighbourhood.

I know he will remember me next time.

Jak

When I am in Liverpool, I often see Jak, who lives nearby. Jak is Albanian, and he is always telling me what a beautiful country it is and that I have to visit.

So Albania is now on my widget. Per-shen-DET-yeh. Fah-leh-meen-DEH-reet. Guh-ZOO-ar. Hello, thank you and cheers. I see them every day.

Jak does not know yet. The next time I see him, I am going to surprise him.

The people you already know

We are surrounded by people who grew up somewhere else. The person who makes your coffee every morning. A colleague on the next desk. The family who moved in down the road. Most of the time we talk to them in English, because that is easier for us, and they are used to it.

On holiday, three words make you a better guest. At home, they make you a better neighbour.

How I use it now

• I pin the places of the people I see most.
• When I have no trip coming up, the widget shows one of them, so the words are in front of me all week.
• When I see that person, I try one word. Usually hello. Thank you comes later, once I have it.

I still get the accent wrong. It does not seem to matter. What people hear is that someone noticed where they are from, and bothered.