Ten minutes to write. Less time to read.

My remodeling project is about to swallow the rest of my life, which is why I write about something totally unrelated to drywall, plumbing, or the thickness of plywood.

Travel has always been one of my pastimes, having been part of my life forever. My Mother used to boast that I had been across the continental US by plane five times by the time I was two. Today, that’s not such a big deal; but back then it was unusual for a toddler to be roaming the country.

During my lifetime, I’ve been to a dozen or so European countries, several Central American countries, Canada, a number of Caribbean islands, and more that two-thirds of the fifty United States. For someone who’s serious about visiting everywhere, this isn’t much of an accomplishment; at the same time, I believe it ranks me above the average citizen.

I also believe travel, especially outside one’s country of origin, broadens the mind, challenges language skills (or shows a lack of them), prevents ethnocentrism, and stimulates curiosity. I can’t say which of these attributes is most important, because they are all characteristics of someone who wants to push boundaries outward rather than compress them inward.

What I’ve learned through my travel is that people are really the same everywhere. It’s a clichй that’s already been created, but perhaps what makes a clichй is its truth. Wherever I’ve gone, I’ve communicated one way or another via sign language, smiles, a dictionary, or halting phrases. In return, I’ve come away with tender memories of people on the trail who took time to make themselves understood, even when I couldn’t speak their language.

In a way, this brings me back to my remodeling project since plumbers and electricians have their own language; and I’m just learning it. I have to ask what various abbreviations mean in order to give an intelligible answer. I have to stop and measure my bathrooms in inches and give explanations why I want the faucet here and the light switch there.

I never thought if it before, but now I’m willing to wager that every trade, every profession, every contractor speaks a language that also broadens the mind and challenges language skills.