Because of that, I’m meeting a lot of people whose names and accents are entirely new to me. When British people talk fast, I can get lost in their accents. I’ve even had to ask them to repeat things out loud for me again.
The most embarrassing thing is asking for people’s names over and over. It’s really difficult for me to remember names that are entirely new to me. I’m good with the Hannahs, Katies and Emmas (side note: I’m meeting a lot of Emmas over here), but names that I’m not used to hearing like Konstantinos, Rishabh or Efoula, take me longer to memorize. So even now in my fourth month here, I’m asking people to remind me of their names.
I’m finding that music can actually be a helpful metaphor for this too. Thank you for sending me the types of music you like to listen to! In a way, you can think of the music you like as your “water” -- the music you enjoy and are comfortable with and the music that means something to you.
If you decide to listen to a genre that is new to you, you’re listening to sounds outside your "water" -- music that represents and means something special to a different culture. You may love this music yourself and feel the music deeply, or you may be confused about the music since it’s new to you. Either way, you’re listening to different music, a different perspective and that’s what’s important.
Some artists that I love which demonstrate these feelings are Tigran Hamasyan and Jacob Collier. Tigran Hamasyan is an Armenian pianist who mixes jazz, electronic music, heavy metal and Armenian folk music. I love how he mixes everything in a way that creates such interesting sounds and “stories” through his music. Take a listen here:
