I'm a drummer. I moved from the UK to France in the mid-'70s and was immediately called upon to join variety bands touring the West of France. There was a fair mix of musical styles, including for many a very strange (to me, at the time...) genre called 'musette', which is basically light, jazz-based popular songs from pre- and post-war, relying heavily on the accordion (Think Edith Piaf..?). Not a musical form with which I was familiar, with its own foibles and techniques, much decried by the musical snobs at the time as being very much 'old-hat', 'boring', 'stale' (and many other derogatory French terms...). I had to pick up the idiom sharpish; I started off using a soft 'disco' shuffle to cover my ignorance and went from there. As long as the (packed...) floor was dancing, it only got better and better. Similarly when I was offered a role in a Caribbean band, drumming beguine, calypso and other exotic rhythms. The learning curve is quite steep, but really makes one focus, and once the basics of the style have been absorbed, there's great pleasure to be had in expressing oneself in a foreign vocabulary. I'd say take the plunge, at least as a trial, and enjoy the (initially bumpy...) ride; there's little better way of progressing whilst having a blast. Go for it.