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Juhi Jhunjhunwala

What would you do if you're stuck for words in a foreign country where people don't speak English?

Travelling is not just about going to different lands, seeing historical and famous buildings, trying out new cuisines or meeting new people. It is said that travel is like reading the different pages of a book. It's also about communicating with people in new lands and belonging to different cultures. And this is something we might not take into account while planning a trip.

However, a language crisis can change the very texture of a journey. For some it can be annoying, while for others it can add beauty and excitement to their discoveries. Confident about my verbal English skills, I never worried about communication troubles when planning a trip abroad... at least not until arriving in Turkey. Coming out of Istanbul's Ataturk Airport full of enthusiasm and zest, one was soon lost.

There were no signboards in English and hardly anyone spoke the language. To my relief, my friend Ayfer was waiting in the arrival hall with a placard bearing my name.

Soon one realised that communicating with Ayfer wasn't going to be easy either. My host's English was just as good as my Turkish! The mind raced with worries about how one would manage a whole week in this country.

After exchanging greetings, we were stuck for words. It is said that actions speak louder than words, and soon we discovered the pleasures of sign language. Ayfer would complement the signs with one or two English words. She was able to follow English sentences, provided they were broken into words and spoken slowly, and I tried to respond in the same manner. Soon we were adept at it and quickly struck a rapport. And we managed to have quite a bit of conversation.

The nightmare began during a night bus journey to Bursa to meet my pen friend, Melek. There was not a single English-speaking soul on the bus. The bus was delayed due to heavy rains and there was the fear of missing my stop. It would be futile asking the bus attendant, so one could do nothing but wait. Luck smiled in the form of a display that gave the town's name in English; so one knew where to get off.

Melek turned out to be smart. Anticipating a language problem, she had an English-Turkish digital dictionary in hand. This was going to be our lifeline for the next three days. I discovered that this was how she had managed to write me letters in English for the past three years.

Whenever we wanted to talk, Melek would open the dictionary and we would each key in what we wanted to say. And the digital dictionary would give us an instantaneous translation. It was indeed an experience that made my Turkey visit a memorable one

`French leave'

Travelling from Toronto to Barrie in Canada, 70-year-old Simone, a French lady in the next seat, was keen on striking a conversation. She had many questions and topics to discuss. But we did not have a common language to speak in. Simone smartly pulled out a pen and diary from her bag and conveyed that she could write in English, although she couldn't speak it. And so we took off.

We exchanged `notes' about each other's lives and moved on to discuss our respective countries. We even went on to discuss the Kashmir problem. A short discussion on the war on terrorism was, however, interrupted on arriving at our destination. We bid adieu with "written" promises to send each other post cards after we get back home.

Picture by the author

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