Submitted by Dominique Oppenheimer on the 2016 winter session program in India sponsored by the Department of English…
One concern when embarking for this study abroad trip in India was how to communicate effectively with possible language barriers. For the most part, I have been able to communicate when need be because of the popular use of English in India and because of very helpful translations from my professor, our guides and my host family members. However, when verbal communication still presented a challenge, I’ve found usefulness in the fluidity and range of types of communication.
For instance, while at our stay in Kaziranga, an area of Assam that is popular for its wildlife, our group had some free time to either go on a second jeep safari or to stay at the hotel. Since I was tired after waking up early for our elephant rides in the morning, I chose to skip the safari and stay at the hotel. After sitting on the deck of the cottage-style room that my roommate and I shared and listening to music for about half an hour, I decided to walk around and explore the area by myself a little bit. I wandered a little bit behind some of the other cottages and passed by a bunch of young boys who seemed to come out of nowhere. They waved and started speaking to me in Assamese, so I just waved back and said that I did not speak Assamese, only English. They seemed to understand this and continued to pass by me. Then I continued to walk a little further behind the cottages and came to a really beautiful open space with water and a short, wide grassy hill. A little girl from a distance waved at me, so I waved back, and she came over, calling over another little girl to join her.
When they reached me, I told them that I only speak English, but I am not sure if they understood fully as the first young girl continued to speak to me in enthusiastic Assamese. (The other girl just stared me.) As I only know how to say hello, name and thank you in Assamese (thanks to some Google searches and questioning), our only effective verbal communication mostly came when we told each other our names. Their last names sounded similar so I asked if they were sisters – one time I asked, they shook their heads, and the other time they seemed to nod, so I am not really sure what the real answer is to that question. Otherwise, I tried to communicate by using a lot of pointing, nodding and smiling in addition to speaking. When I didn’t know what to do, we just kind of all stared at each other for a minute, after which they began to laugh. After a few minutes, I decided to head back to my room, pointing back in the direction of the cottages and waving good-bye. Once I started walking, they started following me for a little bit, and I passed by the group of boys again to which I called out “Happy Bihu” (Bihu being a harvest celebration in Assam), which they said back. I told the girls again that I was going to head out, and they stopped following me and waved. When I walked by them again on the way to back to the cottage I was in, the one girl came up to me with a fruit in her outstretched hand. I pointed to myself and asked if it was for me and she nodded. It was a sweet end to what felt like an incredibly awkward interaction at times, but showed that communication struggles can still be good experiences.