Connections That Transcend Language
Connections That Transcend Language
by Alan McCown | San Antonio, TX
A Dane, a Frenchman, and an American walk into a hostel in St. Jean Pied de Port, France. On March 31, 2022, we set out on our way to Santiago de Compostela. “Sit with strangers” became the phrase of our pilgrimage, and somewhat of a linguistic challenge one evening at a modest dinner table that included pilgrims from Lithuania, Germany, Denmark, Spain, France, Canada, England, and me from the United States. Conversation was lively with speech dipping in and out of first and multiple, second languages; it was beautiful. I lamented that this plurilingual scene would be extremely unlikely in the United States.
After the initial deluge of introductions, speed talking, and catching each other up on our lives, came days of silence where I contemplated the decisions made by this person walking next to me at this time and in this place. Why did he start the same day as me? Why did she choose the same albergue as me? Why did he book the same flight as me? Why did she take the same shuttle as me? Is anyone else going to fuel up with chocolate croissants and Coke Zero? All things considered, I must be walking alongside a kindred spirit.
Our WhatsApp group slowly grew from Day 1, and at one point it included more than 80 people. Salutations to these pilgrims, goodnights to others. Then one group lingers while another is motivated to go further. This leapfrogging culminates on the Praza do Obradoiro facing the finish line. Pictures taken, embraces given, albergues or hotels chosen, a final meal consumed. As easily as the company formed, it fades until you are standing in the street with a lone Camino brother or sister. A selfie, a wave, distance, and it’s over. A sweet sorrow. Meaningful. Life changing. The sorrow fades to memories I never want to lose.
Reflecting on my pilgrim experience teaches me that as I continue to camino, I will seek out the tables set in the most unlikely of places where the most different of linguistic pilgrims sit communicating, sharing, interpreting, loving the minutes, and, opining about and solving a world of problems (at least for an evening). Strangers become friends, languages stop being foreign, tongues become plural, and each pilgrim is understood.
