For those transitioning into life in a new city, there’s that period. You know. The one wedged squarely between mere traveler and bona fide local. Between a few basic phrases and a couple insider jokes.
That ongoing period called immersion. No doubt, the key to getting beneath a culture is to learn its language, but what happens when you’re not there yet?
And “there” seems to remain a moving target?
As jumbled sentences slowly become recognizable and mumbled conversations drop a few understandable words, I notice other senses sharpening in the midst of it all.
Observation. I sit and observe deep conversations grow heated and humorous in the local language.
I observe gestures. Eyes. Expressions. Jaha! Vad kul! Jusste!
Observation becomes that intermediary that waits for language to grow. Once language catches up, it merges with your observations and inches you even closer to being an authentic speaker.
That’s where I am right now. A heightened sense of observation.