Day 6: Beyond Words

After singing at mass today, a member of the Sacred Heart Choir hosted us at her house for lunch. I was asked by a man in the choir if we had done any research about Africa, and more specifically Zambia before traveling here. Throughout this past semester we had multiple faculty members speak to the choir about their experiences in Zambia and Zimbabwe. In addition to these talks, we read multiple articles about the geography and culture of Zambia as well as some articles about how to travel and experience different cultures. As someone who learns best by being immersed in something, my plan was to mostly learn while on this trip.

I then asked what I should know about Zambia, something that is important or unique to the country. His face lit up as he spoke to me about the seven different Zambian languages that are spoken across the ten provinces. These languages all have many dialects within them so there are a number of ways to communicate in this country. Something that has been clear from the moment we landed is that relationships are so important. When someone asks how you are, they really want to know, and the generic “I’m good” is not necessarily what they want to hear.

This conversation taught me a great lesson about my experiences with culture in the United States and how our language culture differs from that of Zambia. There are many languages spoken in the states, and while they are not all native languages, they are all important. We are so quick to dismiss a conversation because of a slight language barrier. So many discussions, experiences, and friendships are missed out on because of differences between people. In Zambia, this is not usually the case. Many times when two Zambians that speak different languages meet, they will do their best to learn the other language being spoken. This might be learning to speak fluently or just learning greetings. What is important to Zambians is that they are able to be respectful to other cultures within their country and communicate with all Zambians.

Ryann Bruno

Alto – Class of 2018

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