One of the things that invariably happens when you live in a country where you do not speak the native language is that some things come up which you don't know the proper word for. This happens because some language is specialized, and you don't tend to learn it, or you learned it once, rarely used it, and simply forgot it. When this happens, you have to puzzle out a non-language-based way to make yourself understood and it's an awesome feeling when you find the key that opens the communication lock outside of the use of words. Sometimes it's gestures. Sometimes it's pictures. And sometimes it's a common education link that is apart from language. One of my favorite experiences was being able to convey the meaning of the element "lead" by writing it's abbreviation (Pb) on the periodic table for a student.
I'll miss the satisfaction and challenge of finding one of these non-linguistic keys to communication.
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