Being a foreigner here, I realized for the first time how difficult things must be for anyone who decides to make the leap and immigrate to a new place. Things don’t quite make sense, and it’s honestly easier to simply fade away and stick with the one or two things you know. In particular, the inability to fully communicate yourself verbally can lead to a sense of helplessness and feeling a bit like you will never fully be a part of that world.
This definitely was the case with me. Armed with 8 words outside of names of food (counting 1-5, “more”, “stop”, and “okay”), I face an uphill battle when attempting to communicate with locals. What I realized is that without language, I found that I was still able to connect with people on a different level and communicate after all.
It’s pretty easy to start distrusting people who you can’t understand, but there is a certain basic humanity that I found I was tapping into when I was communicating. Making eye contact and giving a genuine smile, I was able to connect with people and know that the guy who I don’t know and can’t speak a word to has still got my back. Pointing, grunting, intonation, and perfecting the infamous Indian head bobble also served as huge helpers.
This really isn’t anything new — communicating through things outside of spoken language. However, with limited effectiveness in speaking, I enjoyed a sort of “speaking without speaking”. It made me feel more included and in touch with the culture, and while I can’t really ask them to be sure, I’m pretty sure the local shop owners kind of like “talking to me” too.
Still far from perfect, but it’s been nice to tap back into that and realize that I can still connect with someone who comes from the other side of the world. My conversations with the chai-wala is limited to “Wassup Joony,” “Not much,” “Issa nice shirt,” “Thanks,” but I still feel like the guy is my buddy. The guy who runs the small snack Nescafe stand on campus doesn’t speak English to me, but the guy still chuckles when I deviate from my normal chicken puff order. It’s a connection that goes beyond words and reminds me that we’re all essentially the same species after all!