I'll get to the surreal part in a minute...
Today was my first training session covering the topic of communication. My (now former) colleague created the training materials that I was to present. Last night I was pretty sick because the material was completely abstract and difficult. For example, when's the last time you've used "incongruity" in a sentence? Knowing that the audience was going to be non-native English speakers I knew I had to change it.
I decided to throw out the material and basically teach it like a class.
Here's where it became surreal: Today's group were very senior people at the university... the #2 person in HR, the head of student housing, the head of student affairs... a group of 11 total. All make substantially more money than I do, all have important titles and all are Arab.
More than once I thought, "What is this Iowa farmboy doing here?"
Then I tried to imagine anything remotely similar in the US: A group of managers sitting through a training session being conducted in a different language by a guy several rungs lower on the corporate ladder.
It just wouldn't happen.
How did they accept you? Mom
ReplyDeleteThey are used to working with westerners so that part is no big deal. The material I covered is stuff I have taught dozens of times before. I know what stories work and which ones don't. You'll appreciate that I used the "My mother always said, 'We'll see' and I knew by the time I was 5 that meant it wasn't going to happen."
ReplyDeleteOne woman replied, "We all do that in Arab culture. We don't like to tell our children 'No'."
I think it went well. I'll know for sure if they sign me for future contracts!