Culture Shock: Language Barriers

Many people seem hesitant about traveling to foreign countries because of language barriers, but those same barriers can actually enhance the experience. August Flanagan offers some tips on how you can still experience a culture when you don’t speak the language.

A couple of years ago I wandered into the bus station in Vientián, Laos, and promptly hopped on the wrong bus. I eventually got to where I was going after 26 long, uncomfortable hours. For those 26 hours I was alone on a bus where not a single person spoke a word of English.

When I look back on the experience what I remember most is not the 26 hour journey, or the fact that I was completely lost and had no way to communicate with anyone. Instead, I remember how much I bonded with the people around me during that ride.

At one stop I worked up quite a sweat helping the bus driver unload several tons of tile, stowed in the underbelly of the bus (for my effort I was rewarded with a hearty pat on the back, some words of thanks, and a big bottle of ice cold water).

At four a.m. when I awoke to find the bus stopped on the side of the road, the driver asleep in his seat, I climbed off the bus and stood huddled with the only three other men who were on the bus at this hour. While they smoked cigarettes and told jokes I found myself laughing at words I did not understand, and genuinely enjoying myself.

Over the years of traveling I’ve had a lot of similar experiences – ones that have taught me that there are a lot of ways to communicate and share with others. Speaking a language is just one of these ways. Here are a few of my recommendations on how to travel, experience a culture, and bond with others, without ever speaking their language.

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Culture Shock: Overview

If you search the internet for culture shock, chances are you will come across a number of sites and studies detailing the “Phases of Culture Shock”. It has been conveniently broken down into four phases:

1. The Honeymoon Phase – the period in which you view every experience in the new culture in a romantic and wonderful light.
2. The Negotiation Phase – this tends to be the most common and expected phase as you start missing the creature comforts of home and may be annoyed by what used to be so “romantic”.
3. The Adjustment Phase – you’re finally starting to feel situated and the experiences you have feel “normal”.
4. Reverse Culture Shock – because this is usually the most unexpected phase, it can sometimes be the most difficult one, as you don’t expect you have to adjust to life back at home.

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Culture Shock: Fortune Cookies

Culture shock can come in various forms and degrees.  Here Sherry feels cheated by the lack of authenticity in all things – the fortune cookie.

When you go out for Chinese food in the US (and I’m willing to bet, most of North America), what is the one thing that you are always guaranteed at the end of the dinner – fortune cookies. It’s a symbol of Chinese cuisine – not to mention the source of a lot of fun. However, to my astonishment I’ve been in China now for 3 weeks and I have not been served one fortune cookie. Not only do restaurants not serve them, but the Chinese people I’ve talked to have no idea what they even are! They look at me as if I have lost my mind…why on earth would anyone put paper in a cookie and bake it?

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