A gentleman approached the table at an outdoor food pantry, producing a folded piece of paper, and with a flurry of Spanish handed it to the English-speaking volunteers. It was clear he wanted to know what the English words on the paper said. The volunteers, with a combination of a few Spanish words and a lot of gesturing, managed to tell him that the note was from a doctor and explained a recent visit. He nodded with understanding, but no one was sure if his question had really been answered. He took some food and smiled and said he would be back next week. He came every week, and often had papers from his employer or his doctor for volunteers to read to him, and each time this game of charades took place to help him understand what his papers said. He had formed a bond of trust with these volunteers who cared enough for him to give him food and to spend an extra 20 or 30 minutes searching Google translate for the right words to help him with whatever presented itself that day.

            Learning to speak a language someone else can understand is a difficult thing. Even when a common language is shared, communication is not always assured. In the last year, we have witnessed people who speak the same language talking past each other on social media, in the news and even in our immediate families. Speaking clearly is not easy. Listening thoughtfully is not easy. These are learned skills that take hours of practice and patience and require a great deal of trust for meaningful communication to happen. 

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