Jumping Over the Language Barriers

Our world is filled with different people and cultures. When it comes to traveling the world, chances are you'll find yourself in a completely different country speaking a different language. In this blog post we share our experience on cycling through Eurasia and not letting language be a barrier.

Three years ago...

We cycled through four Southeast Asian countries and knew only one of the local languages - Khmer. Spoken only in Cambodia, it was where Pheng was born. Throughout the tour we used hand gestures and drawings to communicate but it was frustrating not being able to easily communicate. After that we decided next time to learn the languages of the people that we are visiting.

The Preparation

A year prior to Day 1 of this tour we visited the library to get some language materials. It was then we discovered the magic of audio lessons. We took home with us materials for Russian, French and Farsi. We started listening to the lessons and familiarising ourselves with them. Yes our interest and pursuit of language waned from time to time but it certainly put us in the right track for our arrival in the Stans. It also helped that we had two Russian flatmates.

Russian & French by Michel Thomas

The audio lessons from the Michel Thomas method made learning easy and effortless. You only had to listen, speak as directed, and pay full attention to the content. No homework or writing down. The lessons were set up in a conversational manner: one teacher, two students (male and female) and you. You learn along with the two students.

Farsi by Pimsleurs

The method used here also didn't require writing down, however it was a lot of rote learning. Due to the major differences in the sounds used between Farsi and European languages, the lessons focused a lot on individual sounds and a lot of repetition. The lesson set up has one person directing you what to say, and two Farsi speakers (again, male and female).

Both methods have been great and we strongly recommend audio language learning for those who want to learn a language but lack time.

Let's mix it up a little

We met a Swiss cyclist once and he said his English is "crazy". The conversation we had were mostly in English but the fun thing was he would occasionally put in Spanish and French words in because he didn't know the English for it.

As we discussed border crossings for our upcoming countries, he said:

Pero si you remain tranquil at the border, the officers will also remain tranquil towards you.

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Matt learnt a fair amount of Spanish at university so instantly understood it as "but if" and "calm". Being a polyglot definitely has it's perks when it comes to conveying meaning through multiple languages.

We actually find ourselves doing the same, using different languages within a sentence with each other. It means we can practice languages without knowing all the words. After a while we might even look up the missing word.

So now we are focussing on Farsi and putting Russian aside, wish us luck!

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