My high school graduating class was only 41 kids strong. We actually had 43 in the class, but 2 of them had such bad grades they didn’t graduate. A school that small didn’t offer too many college bound class options and the only foreign language offered was French, so I took 2 years of that, then two more semesters early in college. After moving to Phoenix, Arizona it was obvious that Spanish might be a bit more useful, so Isabel and I both took some Spanish classes, and while we were sailing and living in Mexico we got to practice a good bit.
Isabel studied linguistics at university and ended up with French as her primary language. That was quite some time ago, and even though she still speaks French pretty well such things as telephone calls with local Polynesians are still very difficult and often she can’t find the right words, or they speak so fast she gets lost. Apparently her French is still good enough to understand that they’re making fun of her during phone calls. Nuts.
Foreign language training for many of us with English as a primary language is an academic exercise that might help us get by years later but it truly is a “use it or lose it” skill. We might still be able to string enough words together to make a sentence, and we’ll likely always be able to order a beer, find the bathroom, and maybe even read a menu. While it’s fair to say that our French and Spanish training wasn’t time wasted, it’s become obvious to me that if you land in a foreign country and want to have fun and make friends, become competent with a portable musical instrument such as a guitar, mandolin, banjo or ukulele and bring it with during your travels.
Nothing opens doors and makes folks smile quicker than someone sitting down and starting to pick and grin. Musicians unfamiliar with one another who gather for jam sessions become fast friends; the stranger who can just show up and join right in is no longer a stranger but quidkly accepted into the community.
I don’t regret studying French or Spanish, and Isabel’s French language skills have vastly improved our experience here in French Polynesia. However, I sure do wish I had learned to play a portable stringed instrument well back when my brain was flexible and fingers more supple. Maybe it isn’t too late, and the little Martin Backpacker guitar I gave Isabel for her birthday 22 years ago is finally seeing a good bit of action, as both of us are teaching ourselves how to play the darn thing. It’s been around 43 years since I last read music and I’m struggling to regain my skills. Isabel was able to jump right in and she’s progressing faster than me, but we’re both focused on getting to the point we can play notes and chords and sing a decent song. It’ll make those beach bonfires a lot more fun.
Music is the one language that all cultures share, and even if you’re investing energy in learning a foreign language, learn to read music and play an instrument! Not only will you enrich your own life, but the experiences you share with others despite not being able to converse with them in their own language will be epic! If you can play for or with them, they’ll probably buy you a beer anyway.
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