Like most Americans, I did not learn to speak a foreign language until I was a teenager. My first attempt, German, was a disaster. I managed to somehow eke out a passing grade during my two years of German, and can confidently count to twenty, say ja und nein, please, and thank you. I can also order a beer, but that was not part of our middle school curriculum: I learned to do that while traveling in my 20s.

A nation or a “Wonder World” that dazzles with color and chaos, India takes visitors on a journey of soul-stirring encounters. This country boasts a matrix of innumerable co-existing beliefs, a 5000-years old civilization, a home to some of the most colorful and vivid folklore from several ethnic groups, five seasons a year; a festival every day, a smile every second. It’s easy to realize that India is a magical paradox with modern connotations.

When it comes to expressing love, and the emotions associated with it, sometimes words just simply aren’t enough. From a simple hand-tied posy of wildflowers to an explosion of exotic blooms; a dozen red roses to a corsage or boutonniere on Prom night—flowers can speak so eloquently on our behalf.

Vita nuova translates to “new life,” and through prose and poems Dante describes his relationship with the love of his life, Beatrice. These two first met in Florence when they were nine years old, and then again when they were 18. The early poems in Vita nuova show Dante as a young man besotted with Beatrice’s beauty, love-sick like a hormonal teenager. As in any pop-culture romance, his infatuation has its ups and downs. He’s devastated when Beatrice refuses to greet him in the street. He even has a dream in which Love appears to him personified, and feeds Dante’s heart to Beatrice.

At the beginning of my journey my name is Abhain Dubh meaning “black river” in Scottish Gaelic. I tumble down the mountain to Duchray Water and then into Loch Chon, much appreciated for its sheltered water after my hurtle down the hillside. I can relax in this magical place and enjoy the playfulness…

From the stories and legends evolved a unique set of superstitions that existed to give protection to people and the things they held dear. We might scoff at them today, but imagine a time, not so long ago, when life was so hard and tenuous that your very survival might depend on a good harvest or an easy childbirth. It’s easier to understand how these beliefs could become so deep-rooted and firmly held.   

Because of the great ethnic and cultural diversity within each of the countries as well as the interconnectedness of all these countries with one another, there are actually more than 200 languages spoken throughout Europe. How do you bridge political, economic, social, and cultural divides when the mere act of communicating in the same language might not even be possible?