One concern people have on their trips is how to communicate when they go to international countries. I use my own honesty and authenticity to
communicate. I asked this in my April story and interview, "What advice do you have to be comfortable with this barrier?"
I am excited to share with you more about this topic from my fantastic guest writer. Kristi Saare Duarte has
been to over 70 countries across 6 continents, speaks 4 languages and relies on
none of them to speak to locals -- here’s how:
How to
Understand a Language You Do Not Speak By Kristi Saare Duarte
1997. Arusha, Northern Tanzania. In a dusty
beer joint. I remember that I caught myself laughing. Embarrassed, I looked
around to see if anyone had noticed. But no one was looking at me. For some
reason, they didn’t find it strange that a mzungu
was laughing at their joke in Swahili.
EDuarte Photography |
On this, my first trip alone through Kenya,
Tanzania and Uganda, I realized that one can intuitively understand a
language—any language—once you stop listening to the words. At that point, in
the Arusha bar, I knew perhaps ten sentences and twenty words in Swahili: Habari za safari? How was your trip? Una miaka mingapi? How old are you? Unatoka wapi? Where are you from? I
didn’t speak the language by any stretch. But I had understood the gist of the
conversation. And those drunken Arusha men, they knew I had understood. They
smiled back at me and lifted their Tusker beers to cheer me.
EDuarte Photography |
That first trip gave me the travel bug.
I practically worked to travel. Saved a dollar here, a dollar there, and then I bought a plane ticket. The more remote and dangerous a place appeared, the more I wanted to go there. Everywhere, whether at a Kurdish wedding in Aleppo, Syria, or in a Buddhist temple in Tachileik, Myanmar, I found I could communicate with the people I met, even if they did not speak a single word of English. I always managed to ask for “no meat,” without knowing the words. Of course, gestures and facial expressions help, but there’s something else in the works when you speak to another human being: listening to the space between the words. Quiet your mind while it’s busy trying to decipher the foreign words and associate them to familiar expressions.
I practically worked to travel. Saved a dollar here, a dollar there, and then I bought a plane ticket. The more remote and dangerous a place appeared, the more I wanted to go there. Everywhere, whether at a Kurdish wedding in Aleppo, Syria, or in a Buddhist temple in Tachileik, Myanmar, I found I could communicate with the people I met, even if they did not speak a single word of English. I always managed to ask for “no meat,” without knowing the words. Of course, gestures and facial expressions help, but there’s something else in the works when you speak to another human being: listening to the space between the words. Quiet your mind while it’s busy trying to decipher the foreign words and associate them to familiar expressions.
Instead, connect to the other person on a soul level and you’ll be
surprised at how much you understand.
EDuarte Photography |
I’ve tried to fictionalize this phenomenon in
my novel, The Transmigrant, an alternative take on the lost years of Jesus where
he travels along the Silk Road to India. In the first century, there was no
universal language. Wherever Yeshua traveled, he had to learn the local language.
Yet, the more enlightened he became, the easier it became for him to
communicate with others, including the deaf and mute.
But you don’t have to become enlightened to
communicate without words.
Once you open your heart and are willing to receive, you will find that understanding other languages is possible if you simply quiet that doubting voice that says you don’t understand. The trick: don’t listen to the words. Just listen to the space between the words.
Once you open your heart and are willing to receive, you will find that understanding other languages is possible if you simply quiet that doubting voice that says you don’t understand. The trick: don’t listen to the words. Just listen to the space between the words.
Four years ago, my husband and I traveled in
China. By then, I had visited almost seventy countries where I had successfully
communicated without words. For some reason, the Chinese people we met had no
desire whatsoever to try to communicate with us. One day, we passed a Mahjong
club in Xi’an and asked if we may enter. They welcomed us in. What a laugh! We
had so much fun learning about who was married to whom, who cheated at the
game, and told our story about where we came from and what we were doing in the
Shaanxi Province. And yet, not a single word was spoken. In this Mahjong Club,
they were all deaf.
When both parties are open to communicating
this way, it is entirely possible for language barriers to fall away. This is
known as mind-to-mind communication.
But mind-to-mind communication is not as far
out as it sounds. In 2014, scientists at Harvard Medical School, Spanish
Starlab, and the French firm Axilum Robotics, sent a thought via computers from
India to France to prove mind-reading is possible. And certain tribes among the
aborigines in Australia have used telepathy for millennia as a means of
communication.
EDuarte Photography |
So next time you find yourself in a remote
part of the world where you cannot speak a common language and would like to
order a glass of water. Think the thought first, visualize the glass, look into
the waiter’s eyes, and smile. Then say the words out loud, “a glass of water.”
Try it. You will be amazed.
**
A native of Sweden and seasoned world
traveler, Kristi Saare Duarte has lived in Sweden, England, Estonia, Spain, and
Peru and has spent time in over 70 countries across 6 continents. She is fluent
English, Spanish, Swedish and Estonian. By day, Kristi is a professional asset
manager and has worked in the fields of healthcare management, advertising, and
finance. She is also a trained Reiki healer and spiritual channel. She lives in
New York City with her husband.
All pictures are used with special permission from Kristi.
Namaste ~~ The Fun Tour Guru & the spiritual side
Do you like this article? Please share with your friends. Comment and talk with us below!
This is not a sponsored post.
Namaste ~~ The Fun Tour Guru & the spiritual side
Do you like this article? Please share with your friends. Comment and talk with us below!
This is not a sponsored post.
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Excellent Kristi!!! Now I have some tips to understand in another language. For me it's so difficult speak in a different language that I speak. Oz-Bin.
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