First there was the British medical student I befriended on my first day in Prague. Then there were the three Australians traveling through Europe who I met at a pub and went sightseeing with the next day. There’s also Gerald, the Irish club promoter I met on a tram, or any of the dozens of Hawkeyes, Badgers and Buckeyes whose Midwestern accents grab my attention. It seems that wherever I go in Central Europe, I both meet and have an instant connection with native English speakers from all over the globe.
In his four volume work, A History of the English-Speaking People, Winston Churchill (he was also an historian) writes of the common heritage and “special relationship” between the United Kingdom, and its former colonies. Despite past conflicts, he claims, Britain, America and the Dominion countries of Canada, Australia and Ireland, share a language and culture that brings them together in both diplomacy and personal relationships. Churchill pointed to his own friendship with Franklin Roosevelt and their cooperative efforts in World War II as evidence for his theory. As a history, the book contains numerous omissions and oversights; one political rival said Churchill should have titled it “Things in history that interest me.” But every time I forge an immediate bond with someone solely because we’re able to communicate, I think that The Last Lion might have been on to something.
Take the three Australian girls I met while out with my friends one Friday night. We didn’t have much in common, nor did we share any interests. Aside from AC/DC and the world champion beer drinker who became Prime Minister, I know next to nothing about Australia. Nonetheless, we all got along great, and visited a couple cathedrals we’d been meaning to see the following afternoon.
Now it’s true that Australia culture is not that different than America’s. If you think about it though, it’s also not that different than the culture of Germany, France or Italy. The only my friends and I had in common with them was language. But in a place where the vast majority of people are speaking a completely unfamiliar tongue, a common language might be enough.
