Great advice! Some people can be a bit shy about asking for things, so I suggest you practice. For example, I was recently at a reception which included a fixe

Great advice! Some people can be a bit shy about asking for things, so I suggest you practice. For example, I was recently at a reception which included a fixed menu dinner. For the non-native speakers, a fixed menu means that you don't order your meal, they just bring it to you. A waiter was walking around to each of the many tables, quietly filling glasses of red wine. Red wine makes me sleepy, so I asked for a beer. A few minutes later, someone at my table asked me "How did you get a beer?" I said "Um, I ordered it..." "Oh? We can do that?" "We're at a restaurant, he's a waiter. I asked and he didn't say no. So, ugh, yeah. We can do that." That tiny unfamiliarity of a fixed menu and an automatically filled wine glass undid a lifetime of training on how to order things at restaurants. You've got to ask for things, even if it feels unnatural or uncomfortable!