During my two-week vacation in the Gambia over Christmas and the New Year, I was fortunate enough to have been invited by a local to his parents’ home where he lived with his numerous sisters and nephew.  Shortly after arriving, he left the room to take a shower leaving me with his almost non-English speaking family (the children were learning at school.)  Very quickly they began to sing and dance, as only Africans can – it’s in every fibre of their being – and after a short while, I was asked to sing something.  Without hesitation or embarrassment, I chose a short, very beautiful song which I was happy to share with them.  Even though I knew that they didn’t understand the words, nevertheless, they understood the feeling.

I then encouraged them to sing and dance some more and I felt so at ease and confident that I joined in myself.  It was a really wonderful experience which demonstrated perfectly the power of non-verbal communication (facial expression and body language) as well as the fact that music and dance can transcend language barriers and bring connection between people from completely different backgrounds.  I felt absolutely in the moment and connected with my African sisters and could not have wished for a more authentic experience than this.