Traveling abroad and not having a good grasp of the national language can make you feel sort of handicapped. Coming to Italy, I didn’t know much Italian, maybe just the names of food and a couple phrases that I spotted while skimming through my pocket-sized dictionary during the plane ride here.

Something I’ve noticed about myself while being on unfamiliar territory is that I smile at people more than usual, because of my lack of Italian. The beauty of a smile is that the meaning of it transcends any language barrier or cultural difference. Smiling can express happiness, appreciation, friendliness, invitation, acknowledgment….you name it.

The other night I was hanging out with two local Italians that I met here in town. One is the  main source for my story, and the other guy is his friend. After our brief meeting, we said all said goodbye and goodnight. I was expecting a, “nice to have met you” from my source’s friend but, with his broken English he said, “Thank you for your smile.” He caught me off guard with his statement, but he proved my theory right that a welcoming smile can make a good impression and a lasting one, even if your knowledge of each others’ language is minimal.

I was concerned with how Italian people were going to view me as an American and didn’t want to come off as being arrogant or close-minded because I didn’t know their language well. But smiling has helped a lot with the language barrier, and I’ve been rewarded with welcoming smiles in return.

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