Can Sounds Be Worth 1000 Words?

I have really come to appreciate how sounds can really give each place its unique character. Many people go to the desert for its eerie silence while others enjoy the rolling rumbles of the waves in the ocean. It is often when completely surrounded by nature that one truly enjoys the subtle inspiration that sound can have. Although submersion in nature often yields a unique experience the sounds of a rural Thai village, enveloped by the surrounding forests and alive with myriad sounds, has come to be one of the most memorable parts of my Peace Corps experience.

Luckily, my village has yet to be truly engulfed by sounds of modern day life that seems to sap the spirit out of most communities. You hear more roosters than you do motorized vehicles. My hammock overlooking the village has proved to be a perfect vehicle for my enjoyment of the cacophony of sounds that emanate from all around. At any given moment countless sounds are begging attention from your ear.

There is the clank of the Karen bells tied around the cows that meander down the road and disappear into the forest. A rain storm that is visible in the distance slowly beats it way to the village where it endlessly patters away. The background noise provided by the crickets is punctuated by the songs of the birds and the occasional croak of a frog. The call of a rooster in the early morning from an adjacent village slowly escalates into a chorus that resounds from every village. As the village speakers sound the call for announcements or church attendance with a monotonous gong the dogs provide their own interpretation with howls of every tone. The quite chatter of kids playing in the forest is interrupted by the low sputter of a passing motorbike. In the late evening the buzz of the cicadas and the groans of the frogs drown out all other noises. Even the bees buzzing in the small purple flowers in front of my house contribute to this oh so unique environment.

I have sometimes thought about recording the sounds so that in the future I wouldn’t forget. Unfortunately not even the most sophisticated recording device could capture the vibrancy in each on of those individual sounds while contributing to the composition as a whole. To truly experience and understand it effect one must truly be present. The only recording that I will retain is the one ever so delicately etched in my brain. It will undoubtedly be with me forever.