I have always thought I was a good communicator, which of course is the problem. Anytime we’re good at something, it makes it harder to learn.
I have made presentations and conducted training in a room filled with hundreds of people, once with standing room only. My expertise was men and family planning, the needs of young fathers, and the role of routine HIV testing in a reproductive health setting. Maybe if I had a PowerPoint presentation I could communicate better, LOL.
The trouble is, I don’t usually know there’s a problem until it hits me upside the head. Have you ever had a conversation with someone, a co-worker, spouse or one of your kids and felt like you were each speaking a different language? It’s like that here, because we ARE! Even someone who has a reasonable command of English, doesn’t really. It’s the same with my Spanish. It’s about so much more than words.
We’re trying to build a house. We are unfamiliar with the procedures in Mexico. As foreigners, the bank holds title to our property, even though it’s paid for. We must give the bank power of attorney to sign all kinds of documents to get permission to build. It’s the way things are done. This week I felt like I was living in that old Abbott and Costello routine, “Who’s On First”. It helps to have a sense of humor, but frustrating when the house we thought we’d be living in by now, hasn’t started construction. Not by a long shot.
While I realize this sounds like complaining and breaking the “no complaining in paradise” rule, I hope it isn’t. I love where I live. The process may be moving along at a snail’s pace but it’s moving. This week I sat on our soon to be neighbor’s patio and looked at where our house will stand. I looked at the lake and listened to the birds and could visualize living right here. I could FEEL it.
Folks ask often how the house is coming along and I have avoided discussing it. The answer is slowly, very slowly, often due to a failure to communicate.
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