Lost in translation?

Speaking of translation (see below), I knew it would be difficult for me not to be able to speak Spanish, even though several people in past groups had gotten along just fine without knowing the language and most of the people in our current group knew little Spanish. I tried this Summer and Fall to learn as much as as I could through a "Speed Spanish" online class, and I did manage to fake my way through one-on-one conversations pretty well, but I was right: As a communicator by personality and profession, I had a very hard time not being able to fully communicate with the people I met, or forcing them to communicate in English (those who could) even though I was the visitor in their country (to be fair, many of them were grateful to practice their English skills...).

In some ways, I think this was good for me. Both written and oral communication are such bedrocks of my identity that it may have been God's design to strip those away from me. I became dependent on other people and on other forms of communication — mostly smiles and hugs, both of which also come naturally to me, thankfully. :) I was grateful for the Cuban tradition of kissing one cheek (just one, not two or three — it's different in every culture!) because it allowed me to make contact with each person without speech — although I was grateful to have gotten accustomed to using "Mucho gusto!" with my Costa Rican brother-in-law's parents. When I meet someone, I generally like to ask a lot of questions — to learn about their life and family and perspectives. I simply couldn't do this, so our simple conversations focused on how happy we were to meet one another and how we wished the Lord's blessings upon the other. Not a bad foundation to a relationship!

I definitely hope to return to Cuba, but I will work even harder to learn Spanish ahead of time. Love is a universal language, especially within the family of God, but it doesn't help you find your way around the streets of Havana! :)

Other means of communication:

Picture-taking: There are several little girls in Cuba who have literally dozens of pictures of me — they just kept wanting to take them! :) I'm grateful for their sweet welcome and the bonds we formed, even though we could hardly understand a word that the other spoke!

Lots of hand-gestures! (Yesdel, left, and Richard, center)

Gifts! (Beautiful handmade banner and stole presented to us on our last evening. We also brought several suitcases worth of gifts and supplies — everything from toothbrushes to yarn to medication to clothing — for them.)

Music! (More on this later.)

And finally, dancing! (More on this later.)