The AC Everest 2006 team have now assembled in Kathmandu. The Sherpas were here already, packing the expedition loads with our leader Guy Cotter. What an impressive group they are. At the team meeting they introduced themselves in English. “My name is Ang Dorji, I have been on the summit of Everest ten times...”. “My name is Lapka Dorji, I have been on the summit two times...” and so on.

The other team members have traveled from both east and west, all suffering positive or negative jet lag. We have come together from France, UK, Eire, USA, New Zealand and Brazil. One Portuguese speaker, the rest from all over the English speaking world. There is a huge variation in accents and nuances. I guess we will learn to better understand each other during next few days, for our journey is not yet over, now we are ready to fly to Lukla, which, if the weather is good, we will do tomorrow. The next week or so will be spent trekking up to Everest base camp. Our home for the next two months.

For me the traveling began a week ago leaving Chamonix for a short break in London with Jo and Adam. We exchanged skis for tourism and took a mini tour of Hawkesmoor's east end churches. These magnificent structures still take my breath away. You cannot say they are the high point of English baroque, look at them and you will realize that Hawkesmoor was far too strong an individual to pigeon hole like that. There is something pretty modern in the way he carves out the massive rhythms and the way he dispenses with unnecessary detail. As an added bonus, throughout the day we kept meeting the most interesting people. At breakfast was Robin who has started a new stock exchange. (www.opromark.com). A whole new exchange! And later we had tea next to a Belgian professor who screens natural anti cancer products. His field of research was very specific; cancer of the uterus and cervix. He had started his company because the Pharmaceuticals were just too slow.

We finished the day in a pub with beer and television. The English news was delighting itself with a foreign story that day: At the EU Summit, the head* of the European employers' association (who happens to be French) announced that he was going to give his speech in English “because it is the International Language of Business”. It is, of course, disgraceful that a Frenchman could say such a thing, so Jaques Chirac stormed out of the conference. (http://news.ft.com/cms/s/50891a92-baab-11da-980d-0000779e2340.html) If I remember correctly, Chauvin was also French. The English news organizations love a bit of schadenfreude. But there is a more interesting aspect to this below the gloating; Lingua francas (is that the correct plural?) change with time. The international business language maybe English now, but if the BRIC economies grow and if, again, China's population determines it, the lingua franca of the future may not be English at all. The logical thing would be a symbolic language such as written Chinese. We all use at least one written symbolic language in math. Numbers can be pronounced in any way in any spoken language, but always mean the same thing. (2+2 is the same in Japanese as English). The same is true of written Chinese. Perhaps we need to learn Chinese ideograms, but with English (or French) words. Is this possible? I do not know, but I remember reading that the Amerindians communicated across their mutually unintelligible tongues by signing; another symbolic language. Symbolic languages; ideograms and signing, might just be the way to cross language barriers. I doubt that Chirac would agree though.

All this was brought to mind at dinner last night, when it became clear that England and America really are separated by a common language after all. My friend and fellow AC guide, Luis Benitez, explained that he is working on a project for the ABC news people. The idea is to film the professionals on Everest. The ones who return year after year. It could make an interesting story. Dean Staples (also an AC guide) suggested he could contribute a bit.

Luis: I spoke to ABC about that and they are going down with it.
Victor (looking puzzled): Is that good or bad?
Luis: What?
Victor: Is down on it good or bad? I mean when James Brown gets down on it, is that good?
Dean: Down on it could be bad.
Luis: With it! with it! .... ABC are down with it.
Dean:Eh?
Victor: Yes, I understand the words, but is that good or bad? And can I have a translator please?

OK, I give up. Maybe Chirac is right. Lets all speak French.

 
we exchanged our skis for tourism

*Ernest-Antoine Seillière, président de l'UNICE, la fédération des entreprises européennes, basée à Bruxelles.