Magic: The Universal Language
I like to tell people that I can speak every language. Of course, this statement is not to be taken literally. I think of this seemingly impossible feat in a figurative way; that is, magic can be a means which uniquely bridges two individuals who speak different languages. During a trip to various Southeast Asian cities in 2019, the idea of magic being a mode of universal communication became a tenet of mine.
After graduating university in June of 2019, a couple friends and I visited Hong Kong, Thailand, and Indonesia. Visiting the natives of each of these exotic places, and showing them magic, afforded me very insightful moments that I feel are worth sharing. I specifically want to highlight a key experience on this trip that allowed me to realize that magic is more than a type of entertainment; it’s a way of speaking!
Pai, Thailand
One of the places on our Thailand itinerary was a bucolic and impoverished village called Pai ( shown above ). Pai is known to have attractions that include canyons, bat caves, paddy fields, and more. My friends and I decided to rent scooters for the day to explore these attractions for ourselves. We stopped to have lunch at a make-shift shack off the side of the road. Here, an elderly woman and her eight-year-old daughter were making Pad Thai, a very common dish in Thailand’s culture.
Pad Thai
While eating on a large bamboo table off the side rode, I noticed a lull in business after seeing the little girl wandering around the tables ensuring that everyone was satisfied. I gestured for her to come to our table and started to show her a magic trick. The look of confusion on her face when I initially pulled out a deck of cards signaled to me that she probably has never seen a card trick in her life – which is understandable given that she lives in a suburban village that doesn't have WIFI or computer access. Also, I couldn’t ask her if she has seen magic because I didn’t speak Thai, nor did she speak English. Because of this language barrier, I adapted to the situation by showing her purely visual magic effects which require little to no talking. Among other tricks, I took a card and changed it into a different one. Here is a video:
In this video, mentalist and magician Tammer performs Magic. After honing his craft in Los Angeles and Southern California, Tamer has brought his magic to corporate and private audiences and parties, and even on an international level.
After doing this trick, I believed that she had never seen magic in her life before this moment. It took her a few extra beats to realize that what she saw was something unusual and was also, from a layman’s perspective, virtually impossible. My friends and I were smiling at her and she shared a look of amazement back at us. She gestured to see one more, so I started performing yet another visual effect. The same reaction ensued.
This moment only took a few minutes. However, it is in these few minutes where an immense amount of learning came from. After reflecting on it, I realized that magic has the power to break through the language barriers between people. Though the amount I can “say” with magic may not be evenly commensurate to the amount I could communicate if I knew the other language, it is still amazing to see that some type of communication can still exist.
Would love to hear your thoughts and opinions regarding how you may use, or think to use, any actions to communicate with another person who speaks a different language!
