Travel Lessons: Spring Edition

I am struck by something new every time I’ve been lucky enough to travel outside of Spain. This has a lot to do with the large differences between the places I’ve visited, of course. My most recent travels, during the Spanish holiday of Semana Santa, took me to the cold North of Europe. By far the most similar region to America, historically and culturally and ethnically, the Northwest of Europe nonetheless contrasts with the States in a way that was sure to fascinate me. A series of budget flights took me first to London, a city that looms very large in American history, economy, and culture. London was the birthplace of capitalism, of the corporation, and of the financial market. While the U.S. is now the primary player in these systems, it was London that pioneered them. Similarly, the social contract, generally defined as the idea that a government has obligations to its citizenry and those citizens can hold the government accountable, and vice-versa, originated there in the struggle between Parliament and monarchy. Oh, and we also used to be their colony.

Another obvious relation between London and the U.S. is the language. In fact, this trip was the first where I was more at home linguistically than I am in Spain. The universality of the English language as a means of international communication, at least in many parts of the world, made a huge impression on me. The British accent didn’t trip me up too bad, and Londoners actually turned out to be a lot friendly than their New York counterparts. Despite living in a city of similar size, similar diversity, and similar touristic inundation, Londoners were always happy to help with directions or recommendations, even if they just happened to overhear our conversation. London also established itself clearly in my mind as the most interesting city around for people watching. Its diversity is ubiquitous in every street, not just in separate neighborhoods, every passerby different in color and style than the last. Sikh turbans follow Arab headscarves follow blonde business suits follow African dresses. At a University of London end-of-term party for students of African and Oriental studies, the variety of backgrounds and appearances put the most diverse club at UNC to shame.

Another big impression from this trip was the level of international exchange between countries. This has a lot to do with Europe’s Erasmus program, an open exchange program for any student to spend a semester or year in a University in another country for no additional cost. In addition, though, it is not unusual for people to just live in another country, for work or because they like a city or want to learn the language. Our hosts were quite an international mix. In London, we stayed in the apartment of Czech, German, and Ukrainian students, all of whom spoke perfect English at age 18.

In Berlin, our next stop, we stayed in an apartment with an Italian, a Turkish-German, Bavarian German, a Hungarian, and a French guy. Berlin in general is very international, due to its youthful appeal and the huge of Turkish and Middle Eastern communities that immigrated in the post-war period. The history of Berlin deserves books and books, and I cannot do it justice here. Suffice to say that after spending 4 days there, and seeing how alive and recent so much of its history is, I think that Berlin is the most important city of the 20th century. It was at the center of so many major historical events, from both World Wars to Nazism and the Holocaust to the Cold War and the Berlin Wall, and affected so many more.

Needless to say, the city’s history lies heavily on the minds and consciences of its inhabitants. As Giulia, our Italian host put it, “The people in this city have to live with their history every day.” The Germans we met were generally thoughtful and willing in their discussions of their fascinating and troubled past. This continual re-engagement with the darker side of national history is something that, by contrast, the U.S. sorely lacks. Americans are not often caught discussing the destruction and displacement of American Indian tribes, or the socioeconomic legacies of slavery in the States. And as the introductory quote from Primo Levi at Berlin’s Holocaust memorial said, “It happened, therefore it can happen again: this is the core of what we have to say.” Awareness of the full costs of our history allows us to engage the present more thoughtfully and think more wisely about the future.

Aside from the city’s omnipresent history, the commonality of English again floored me. Every German under the age of 50 or so spoke easy English, although the older folks running trains and selling bread presented something of a linguistic challenge. From Germany to the Netherlands, English only became more common. In Amsterdam and the outlying town of Haarlem, I never had to think twice before speaking in English.

In Haarlem, we had the interesting experience of staying in a squat, an abandoned building occupied by a variety of friendly young leftists, punks, and hippies. The squat where we stayed, complete with hijacked water and electricity, holes in the roof and walls, and piles of theoretically-useful junk, was populated by Dutch, German, Latvian, Austrian, Romanian and Scottish twenty-somethings. Despite unconventional lifestyles and attitudes, every one spoke excellent English, again surprising me. In Cologne, where I stayed with two former exchange student friends, English was once again second nature for every young person we met.

The main take-away from this trip: we are lucky to speak English. I have been told that so many times, and it is unmistakably true, that Americans and Brits have a linguistic advantage in business, travel, and popular culture. This is part of the answer to the question that often follows: why don’t Americans learn another language? In one sense, it is not absolutely necessary for reasons outlined above. Also, our education system, despite a token effort at Spanish, just does not emphasize language as a necessary component of basic learning. Another reason is geographical: Americans just do not have the exposure to a variety of languages and cultures that European proximity provides. A day of driving in Europe takes you to a new country, language, food, and history. A day of driving in the States takes you through a few different states, with maybe a different accent or some different menu items, and little other change besides landscape. To spend time in another country generally means flying, an expensive and ultimately unsustainable means of exchange.

So, the lack of multilingualism in the States is forgivable to some extent. However, the level of Spanish language exposure and exchange in most parts of the States leaves no excuse for why Americans should not be able to communicate in the language or their one non-English-speaking neighbor. Arguments that bilingualism dilutes American culture hold no water: just look at Europe, where countries have been mixing languages and students for a century at least and each country maintains a distinct sense of national identity and culture, even with significant immigrant populations. Learning new languages allows exploration of new cultures and foments a more world-conscious perspective even as it ultimately teaches us about our own culture. Every encounter reminds me how important Americans are to the world, for good and bad reasons, and we owe it to the world to make the reverse true as well.