Ever since I was little, I’ve been entranced by languages. The way that the words flow together and roll off the tip of the tongue leaves me in awe with their enchanting sound.

My mom’s first language is French, and hearing her speak it so naturally always astounded me. She grew up in Montreal, Canada, and we visit almost every year. I listen to the way French is spoken by everyone there—even the children—and wonder how I end up so lost. How could these words that sound like complete gibberish to me somehow form cohesive sentences for others? How could these complex words full of hyphens and accents make more sense to a child half my age than they do to me?

The simple concept that to other people, the word ‘bonjour’ just means ‘bonjour’ and not ‘hi’ is still mind-boggling to me. I’ve spent a long time wrestling with the idea that people don’t have to constantly translate every sentence and word in their heads from their language to mine. From my fascination of languages grew a similar interest in cultures.

How we as a society form ideals and standards that people abide by has recently grown to be a topic of interest for me. Visiting different countries and experiencing the different culture shocks within each one is an engrossing experience that leads to more curiosity. Two years ago, I visited England over winter break with my family, and the significant differences between the use of personal vehicles and public transport were considerable. While the U.S. is built around the use of private automobiles, England and most of Europe are the complete opposite. In Europe, almost every person owns a bike that is used for travel rather than recreational purposes, and subways and buses are much more preferred methods of transportation.

Another example of this is in Quebec, Canada. In Quebec, all of the shops and stores are very specialized. Here in the U.S., you can go to Target or even Walgreens and find medicine, snacks, and possibly alcohol. However, in Quebec, if you want medicine, you go to a pharmacy; if you want snacks and food, you go to a grocery store; and if you want alcohol, you go to stores that sell almost exclusively alcohol. The entire system for purchasing specific goods is completely different, and the external factors that determine these differences are something that never ceases to amaze me.

Through ornate languages and ideals dependent on the people who created them, it’s easy to find extraordinary beauty in even the simplest things, such as words. The gracefulness that the flow of each sentence holds and even the most austere situations all possess certain qualities of life. Within each language is a culture full of unique customs and values so different from our own, and beauty can be found in each syllable.