7 Senses Travel: An Adventure in Sound

Article by Dr. Jessie Voigts
Wandering Educator Contributing Editor for TransitionsAbroad.com

How often do we use our senses while we travel? All the time! I’ve shared here on educating your 5 senses via traveling and utilizing your senses to make your travel writing better. 

But, you may ask, how can we truly utilize our senses to fully experience a place, meal, concert, or culture? By cultivating awareness — and practicing at home.

First, I’d like to expand the concept of the 5 senses to 7. What? Yes. Listen:

Not only do we have our 5 senses (hearing, seeing, listening, tasting, feeling) to enrich our lives, but I suggest adding two more to truly capture the human experience — intuition and umami. I’ll be exploring all 7 senses in articles here on Transitions Abroad, but let’s start today with hearing.

There are many ways and things to hear, aren’t there? We are surrounded by sounds. All the time. From the alarm clock that wakes us up in the morning (or, for a few, that pesky rooster) to the sounds of food cooking to music, traffic, laughter, talking, city sounds or country sounds, animals — the list is endless.

The sounds of the country from a rooster. Photo by Jessie Voigts.

And when we travel, sometimes sounds bombard us — the enormous noise of cities; the magnitude of a shout in a canyon; incessant honking; people sharing their music when you least desire it; languages that sound like shouting to our untrained ears.

The endless noise of city traffic.

Other sounds lure us, such as food cooking in street markets, the whisper of the waves lapping the beach, the rush of a waterfall or the gurgle of a small brook, the joyful giggles of kids, and the powerful singing of women. 

The sounds of the river.

Some sounds herald changes in behavior — the sound of raindrops, slowly increasing until they become a downpour (you know you’ll be stuck wherever you are until it ends, be it a coffee shop, restroom, or under a tree); a rising wind (head inside); crowds of laughing people (stick around! Might be a parade!).

The sound of raindrops.

Yes, yes, I hear you saying. Let’s get to cultivating awareness and practicing at-home tips.

How can you best utilize your sense of hearing to enrich your life and enhance your travels? It seems obvious — by listening. Here’s how.

Cultivate Awareness

This is one of the most important things you can do to improve your life, wherever you are. Cultivate awareness of the sounds in your life — at home or on your travels.  

Le Coquillage (The Shell), 1871, by William Bouguereau.

How do you cultivate listening awareness?

Turn Off Electronic Devices, Be Present, and Listen

Please don’t get distracted by things you need to do or pay attention to (smartphones, I’m talking to you). Put those away. Listen to the sounds around you whether you’re walking, sitting, or driving. Listen to the muezzin’s call. Listen to the banter of neighbors, the sounds of nature, and the subtle noises of life that usually escape notice.

Turn off devices and tune into sounds around you to hear something new.

Listen and Participate in the Local Language

Try as hard as you can to learn some basic phrases, and if possible, study the language before or during your travels. Talk with locals in their language. You’ll have genuine interactions and create some memorable experiences. Be present in these discussions — you’ll learn more than you ever thought you could (not only language).

Learn and listen to the local language where possible.

Listen to Music!

Explore listening to local music wherever you are. Music is an intimate look inside a culture and a universal language. In Europe, classical music concerts are often in churches, cathedrals, and public buildings — imagine the acoustics and ambiance! Read this lovely description of listening to a concert in a cathedral in Paris:

“…when on the street, seek out the sounds. Wander in and stand on the side. The rapturous vibrations of an organ or the harmonies of a parish choir can touch something primal in us, an emotion that transcends time and bridges the centuries. Even for a moment, the strains of music can unpack our sorrows or free our joys…or just transport us through the force of its simple beauty.” — Marcia De Sanctis, 100 Places in France Every Woman Should Go.

Imagine listening to the organ play in Notre Dame, Paris.

In Nigeria, listen to local artists that have global appeal. If you like, take music classes when you travel; make your travel plans around attending music festivals. Find musicians or musical instrument makers and talk with them, listen to them, and go to their concerts. When my brother went to Colombia for intensive language classes, his favorite thing was to go to concerts by local musicians almost every evening. He said it was the best introduction to Colombian culture he could have imagined. Read interviews of musicians before you go, watch their videos, and get familiar with the music. That way, you’ll be ready to listen and learn when you arrive.  And you might be surprised — cultures are crossing, musicians are globally collaborating, and new sounds are being made.

Choose Travel that Exposes You to Local Sounds and Culture

You may choose to study abroad in Vietnam or volunteer to study the Jaguar with Earthwatch or attend a cultural festival on the Niger. You’ll hear things that, by being off the tourist track, will be wondrous sounds — maybe the loving tones of your host mom, the office banter in your work overseas, the classroom hubbub of your ESL students, or the sounds of the ocean on a deserted beach only local fishermen know. 

The sounds of the ocean on a beach heard only by fishermen at twilight. Photo © Transitions Abroad.

Practice Active Listening

Explore the best ways to practice active listening.

Practice these at home — so that you’re tuned in to how to listen, as well as ways to listen. It will change your travels — and your life.

Dr. Jessie Voigts is the publisher of Wandering Educators, She’s published six books about travel and intercultural learning and is working on more. You can usually find her family by water—anywhere in the world.