As I sit across the table from Tiziana, a petite, young Italian girl from Sicily, with a look of pure confusion, I realize that there is more to talking than pointing and grunting.
How am I going to tell her about me and my life if I can’t say anything else in Italian but “Ciao!” and “Mi chiamo Lauresa. Sono Americana”?
She stares back at me with the same look of confusion. A sudden hint of excitement illuminates her face as she runs back to her room. She returns to the table with an Italian/English dictionary and a look of genius.
We sit for an hour or two conjugating weird sentences and making each other laugh as we both slaughter each other’s language. Suddenly Tiziana yells, “Aiuto! Why can’t . . . I speak . . . perfect English?” I look at her in disbelief, because at this point in time she is speaking more English than I am Italian.
I haven”t felt the frustration of not being able to speak Italian until I started trying to talk to Tiziana because, I never had actually wanted to talk someone. Now the language barrier challenge was in front of me and I was not quite sure what to do.
So far Tiziana and I have built a friendship despite the language issue. We go out, dance, and drink together. We have dinner together and we dance in the hallway. We even have a catch phrase, “You know this Peanut Butter Jelly Time!!!!?”
) 
sometimes I think words are an inferior means of communication… look how bonded we become with our pets who learn to understand us & we them. The lack of language forces us to “study” our friends and seek understanding that often is lost when we use words thinking we’ve articulated well or been understood. But really, how can we understand the prism of experience that is unique to each person by which they interpret the spoken word? Sometimes when language isn’t an option, actions speak much more clearly and definitely with more lasting impacts. I hope your friendship with Tiziana continues to flourish… you know the saying… a friend is someone you can be with and not say a word and they still understand- or something like that!
Brava Resa! When ever I visit a foreign country, I always wish I had learned the language, but there are always many ways to communicate. When I first moved to Italy dictionaries were invaluable!