Research says, languages are tribal.¹
Languages tell us who we belong to,
who is or isn’t one of us,
who we are understood by and who we are foreign to,
who is with you and who is against you.
It is ridiculously difficult to learn a language to a high enough standard to be passed off as a native. Your accent or the idioms you use [or don’t use] will give you away. Language serves as a reliable signal of identity.
So what happens when a woman with four Spanish learning apps on her iPod forgoes the World Race All Spanish Route, and instead opts for eleven different countries with eleven different languages… that she doesn’t have language apps for?
She does her own research.
She looks outside the gate to a boy eating a sandwich and asks, “play with us” [thumbs up/ shoulders shrugged aka the universal sign of asking a question]
and for some reason-
despite the obvious lack of shared language-
he trusts her, and agrees.
He’s too cool to look like he’s having a good time, so he keeps his leather jacket on.
But she knows instinctively, he’s one of the good ones.
they start with frisbee-
simple enough, only a few words needed-
throw, good catch! over here.
He sits down between the throwing and catching, not wanting to seem desperate.
She keeps throwing it to him, keeping him on his toes.
and then another joins-
and her sister,
both more eager than the boy.
The girls laugh every time the frisbee is missed or the toss is less than ideal.
The woman with no Bulgarian language skills keeps missing and throwing less than ideal tosses- eventually landing the frisbee in a tree.
and the landing in a tree leads to the boy to ask-
“fútbol?”
translation, “are you ready to play with me, not at me?”
And I’m convinced that at my agreement a silent alarm went off- alerting all adolescents within a five-kilometer radius:: the foreigners have a fútbol
because nothing else could explain what happened next-
a yard FULL of new friends
within three minutes.
They split instinctively into teams, lending us two of their own to keep it even. We welcomed them with high fives and an emphatic pep talk… met with blank stares.
this is fútbol-
no words needed.
this is fútbol-
its speaks for itself.
For four hours fútbol said::
We are for you…
with you.
We understand…
or at least we want to.
We are just like you…
only worse at fútbol.
For four hours fútbol spoke love-
Love, louder than language.
And it’s not just futbol that speaks louder than language.
It’s smiles and laughter and kind gestures and sharing.
It’s inviting people inside the gate and taking a risk and stepping outside your compound.
It’s burnt popcorn and cups of water.
and selfies… those apparently speak love pretty well too.
Language will fail.
Love never fails.
Love never fails to include.
Love never fails to walk beside.
Love never fails to encourage.
Love never fails say, “you belong.”
Love trumps Language every time.
My words will fail me daily I’m grateful for a Love that never does.
1.by research, I mean I was fascinated by this TED radio hour…
