Language

I have been training my replacement at my current job. It is interesting to see the places communication fails. I am speaking everyday with a vocabulary he is still learning. Acronyms abound at my job. We even go so far as to reuse acronyms, in which case the meaning can only be determined by the context. In the two years I have worked at this plant, I have learned the importance of communication. I've made my share of mistakes. Things that make sense to me can be incredibly confusing. For example, asking someone to increase the vacuum in a process seems clear, but to INCREASE the vacuum you need to DECREASE the pressure. =)

My senior year of college I was taking a Portuguese class to improve my reading, grammar, and writing since I learned the language almost entirely orally from my mom. I had a Portuguese Bible that my uncle had given to me, so I started trying to read the same passage in English and Portuguese. The first thing I learned is that biblical language is difficult, but as I struggled through my Portuguese Bible, I was surprised by the things I had taken for granted when reading my Bible in English. Reading the same story in another language gave the text more depth and beauty. I had to slow down. I had to struggle through the words. I had to read the words deliberately, not just glancing over the words in expectation of the next familiar words.

I am looking forward to learning new languages in Sudan. I will make mistakes. I will be misunderstood. But that happens even when I speak English. I also hope that I will continue to be surprised by new perspectives.