Diverse Tongues, Rich Experiences: UNITE through Language & Culture Cinta Berliana
“When we learn to understand each other, we will understand ourselves better.”.
I still remember that quote by Sarah Galdon when I was still trying to find myself at such a young age. Just like the others, I was a teen who was searching for her identity, which made me frequently ask myself, “What am I? Am I defined by what I like? by what I dislike?
by my hobbies? or my talents? If I had to explain about myself to the others, what are the first five things that I’ll tell them?”
I was lost in that question because I only limited the answer by searching from within.
Little did I know that the quote by Sarah Galdon had grown inside me. I finally experienced it when I was chosen as the Panelist of Universitas Gadjah Mada for Universiti Malaya’s Physical Outbound Mobility Program.
I met new friends coming to my university from far away in Malaysia. And together, we shared stories and opinions about urban issues for three days. Being with them, I learned a lot about cultural differences and certain challenges from their country that I had no idea I could relate to. For these three days, I realized that I opened up to new experiences, new friendships, and new academic and emotional perspectives.
After that experience, I can’t help but reflect on those moments again as my compass and guide for new international opportunities. And by that, I’m grateful that I finally found the answer to my question.
My likes, dislikes, hobbies, interests, etc do not define me. My experiences define me.
Those are my growths, momentums, and the cause of such a dynamic change in my interests and skills from time to time.
By that, Sarah Galdon was right. It’s through the people that we can develop ourselves.
And by people, I didn’t mean it was only targeted at our friends, family, acquaintances, lovers, etc. We also can learn from strangers.
Millions of stories and opportunities could be explored around the globe; in my case, it was the mobility program with Universiti Malaya. But, if we look closer, we are already connected by media, space, and place with one prime device, the language.
With the languages I foster, I unlock words and doors to new experiences, insight, friendships, stories, and many more across cultural boundaries. It became a bridge to connect
hearts, enrich understandings, become a tapestry of humanity, and even bring a deeper interpretation of ourselves amongst the diversity.
As I went through the journey, I asked myself, “What strategy can I share about celebrating that diversity so that people can master languages and cultures to enrich their experiences?”
I searched for words and words, and one acronym came to my mind: Unite, which consists of understanding empathy, navigating cultural insights, immersing in experiences, transcending through connections, and evolving through language & culture mastery.
Here’s what we can do: the first thing is to Understand Empathy (U). Understanding empathy means that you are in a room with them to contribute and actively listen. Foster compassion and share personal stories; everyone is in the same place and with the same degree towards each other. You can do this through conversations, workshops, and anywhere.
Second, Navigate Cultural Insights (N). Now, here’s where you can contribute to each other, not just by listening but also by asking. We’re here with different backgrounds, so learn the backgrounds by the people themselves. There are cultures, insights, and more that you can understand. Make sure to use that time and place wisely.
Third, Immerse in Experiences (I). At this point, you can actively participate or volunteer yourself in cultural events, language clubs, and exchange programs. It’s one of the most essential points–where, by being immersed in experiences, you could know how important the language is in this diversity.
Fourth, Transcend through Connections (T). Now that you’ve built your empathic and active listening skills and gained cultural insights through experiences, you must make the connections meaningful. Make it long-lasting; those connections will bring you somewhere else and to new opportunities later.
And last but not least, Evolve through Language & Culture Mastery (E). The first, second, third, and even fourth points couldn’t be done by continuously learning and expanding your language proficiency. Remember, we had the media, space, and place to connect us all, but once again, it was joined by one valid device only: the language. So, you want to understand empathy? Navigate the cultural insights? Being immersed in experiences?
Built the connections? Learn the language first.
Based on the World Atlas of Languages, there are 8.324 languages worldwide, with seven continents, 235 countries, and 1000 plus cultures, according to United Cultures.
Amongst those numbers, I was privileged to witness how a few of the people from 2
countries interact with each other. By meeting two countries and two cultural languages with one prime language, we talk to each other. I’ve already learned a lot.
Now, imagine if it’s more than that—a room with diverse backgrounds, more than 2, perhaps 5 or 10 or even more. Imagine how much we can learn from each other.
In the end, I want you to ask yourself and reflect on the previous story: do you want to learn more about the unknown through diversity?
Then, come with me, let’s unite these diverse tongues by acknowledging the languages to get rich experiences together.