International Communication

Ever sit in an international airport or train station and listen to the conversations around you? It really doesn’t matter whether you speak the language or not, when you watch others you realize that some things are universal.

You also recognize that lots of words don’t necessarily mean communication, whereas few words sometimes communicate a wealth of information.

Recently I found myself in a lounge full of individuals from all over the world. We were all waiting for various groups to leave from the common point of congregation, and everyone had their “stuff” for the day with them.

First, there were the moms. They are impervious to children tugging on their sleeves going “Mama, Mama, Mama, Mama,” ad naseum, although after about 30 seconds everyone else within a 30 foot radius would gladly have held the little spawn underwater until the bubbles stopped. Apparently something about giving birth affects a woman’s hearing in certain ranges, just as football games on televisions can cause many husbands to stop hearing tones within the range of their wife’s voice.

Let the child truly be in trouble, though, and squawk just the slightest bit differently and the mother immediately turns her attention to the offspring to determine that there’s no true danger.

The corollary to that, of course, is the Dad. He’s sitting there fidgeting with something new – a camera, snorkel, cell phone – trying to figure it out so that he can explain it to everyone else. I’ve watched this in my own dad a lot – with three little boys, he knew that every new piece of equipment, no matter what it was, would need to be explained at least 9 times or more. He’s got to understand all the nuances so that he can not only undo whatever stupidity the others do when they don’t wait for his instructions, but also to be able to then lead them down the right path to make the thingamajig work before frustration sets in.

Usually without actually reading the directions.

There are fighting couples. Usually, they’re easiest to observe because there are no words going between them, or if there are, one will offer something and get “the look” from the other, usually followed by curt answers or stony silence.

They are at the opposite end of the spectrum from the “first daters”, who are nervously talking about themselves, interspersed with questions with each other and revealing the picture that they would have the other see, at least until they decide if there’s going to be a second date.

There is the tired resignation on the face of someone who has gotten trapped by a chatty-Cathy who has decided that they are now new best friends, Cathy being the only one talking. The victim of that case is hoping that someone has dropped a nail file on the floor so that they can gouge their eyes out and therefore have an excuse to leave without being rude.

There are grandparents who are along for the ride, having had little input in the planning and probably preferring half the activities and twice the nap they’re going to be allowed. The grandfather is concerned about how much things are costing, being unable to truly enjoy a $10.00 hamburger and wanting to pay his part despite the obvious ability of the kids to treat, and the grandmother taking in all the things that need correcting were she in charge – that baby needs a sweater; that girl needs a safety pin for her top, she’s showing waaayyy too much cleavage for a teenager; that woman over there needs to quit reading that trashy novel and either pay attention to or smack her husband for looking at that other woman who’s grandmother obviously never explained to her the proper use of a safety pin, and now it’s too late and she’s learned to enjoy the attention brought about by a low cut blouse – again, some things are universal.

Mind you, all of these things were happening in at least five languages that I could distinguish. I don’t speak enough of anything but English to be able to do more than ask the location of the toilet and how much something costs. It was easy enough to get a pretty good grasp of what was happening in the crowd, though, regardless of the words actually used.

So maybe we’re not as different as we think we are.