The Universal Language

February 2023

Over the course of this last month, I have traveled to two different countries. Both completely unrelated to each other. The cultures and languages had no similarities either. In the idea of being frank, I cannot pretend as though I understood every language I stumbled upon. Did I pick up on some common phrase? Of course. But anything else, no. The image of fear could be painted on my face but it was not as such. Although our languages were nothing alike, there is this unspoken language that I learned on my travels. Feelings.

The language of feelings. The language of feelings has five key components - happiness, empathy, sympathy, gratitude, and the last I will hold out until the end. No matter where you go or what you speak, every living thing understands those.

Happiness is the most fleeting and the easiest to recognize. Vendors see the customers light up with happiness when they have the most magnificent pieces. Tour guides feel it when they see their clients amazed by the most friendly elephants or the meticulously carved statue from the Egyptian Empire. Happiness comes and goes but it is contagious and can be called best feeling in the world.

Sympathy is the acknowledgement of others feelings. It is the embrace that drivers give when they see you have had a long journey and would like to rest somewhere after your hotel overbooked without telling you. It is the familial greeting you get at your foreign hostel that you ended up booking at the last minute because you fell in love with the location. It is the actions that the natives do to make one feel steady when they are 18 and all by themselves in a far off village from everything and everyone.

Empathy is when someone can relate to the same emotion. It is as if someone places themselves in one shoe to feel the burden. It is felt when porters on long hikes notice the blisters on your feet and give up their shoes physically placing them in your shoes to alleviate the pain. It is the tour guides who wait with you until your flight leaves so that you are not bothered by strange men. True empathy is the all night care that one receives when they accidentally obtained a bacteria in their stomach and now can’t leave the wash room because liquid is coming out of every direction. It is the run to the overpriced pharmacy using all the cash they just made from a hard day’s labor just to help a foreigner feel better again.

Gratitude is felt by both the tourist and tour guide. The tourist appreciates the protection, care, and information that was given. One may believe that the business felt gratitude for taking a chance on them and receiving their tip. But honestly the tour guide, driver, housekeeper, homeowner, all felt gratitude when one stayed for a conversation to truly learn their name and story. The gracious giving of time always ends with gratitude.

And all of these are embodied with the last one- love. Love ties them all together because at the end of all these events that have occurred to me it was loved that propelled them. It was love for their job. For the adventure. For the memories. For the good. For the bad. For the warmth and feelings that I have felt with me. All those people who helped and guided me did not know what I was saying without google translate but even when I did not use it the power of feelings was understood. It is as one could say a universal language.