End of the Run

Well, I'm back from the ICOM, and have officially completed my crazy tour of around 5000 miles. Now I will be visiting family over the holidays and meeting with friends in the Illinois area. On the down side, the Midwest has once again managed to make me sick - literally. I'm not sure if it is the allergens, some weird local bug, or the fact that I always visit here at the end of a exhausting trip, but I seem to keep getting sick when I reach the Midwest.

The convention went well - I managed to not offend or horrify anyone with my workshop (I think), raise awareness of our work developing individuals and communities in Mozambique and elsewhere, and make contacts with a few other organizations that either we can help, or may be able to help us. All in all, a satisfying run.

Now if I can just get the sick out of my system, everything will be great heading into the holidays.

Traveling 'Round the West

So...an entire month without posting a blog. Nothing I can do for it now, but apologies on the lack of update last month. As the title suggests, I have been traveling around the western U.S. visiting potential partners and giving explanations/updates about what we are doing in Mozambique and other places. Instead of summing up the trip verbally, which would mostly consist of "went to X, talked to So-And-So" over and over, I have a map of the trip, with some of the locations marked for your viewing pleasure.

The Great Western Tour:

Here's the fast key:
A/I)   Torrington, WY
B)     Winslow, AZ
C)     Globe, AZ
D)     Anaheim, CA
E)     Bakersfield, CA
F)     Ashland, OR
G)    Cottage Grove, OR
H)     Spokane, WA

Final travel distance: 4163 Miles

Things We Have Learned: Terms & Concepts

One of the things we are learning in our work is just how different learning terms is from learning concepts. When learning any language, the former is required to speak or write, but the latter is required to understand. We have also learned how easy it is to learn terms without actually learning concepts. This results in a dangerous situation where a person thinks they know the language, but is actually severely restricted in what they can communicate or comprehend.

To ensure good communication, we need to make sure we know what the terms we are using mean. We usually do this by defining the terms – we use other terms to describe the new term. This allows us to expand our vocabulary and thus the scope of things we can easily discuss. Unfortunately, this method makes the assumption that the terms we are using in our definition are already understood. As we have learned in Africa, this is not always the case.

In our discussion with Mozambican nationals, we discovered several terms that are not well understood. That is, the English-speaking nationals may know the terms, but the concept that the term represents is still largely unknown. For example, in our seminar, one of the areas of development we discuss is relationship-building. After the seminar, however, we discovered that some of the nationals did not grasp the concept of a relationship—which reduced the effectiveness of the session quite a bit. The important thing to understand is they know of the term “relationship,” and could use it in common conversation, but they did not possess a working concept of relationship.

We encounter a similar issue in the west—a prime example would probably be corporate jargon.[i] If you have worked in a corporate environment, you have probably encountered this situation: a boss/manager/employee/etc. will use a particular term such as “leveraging”, “diversification“, “asset management”, etc. but clearly does not understand what the term actually means. That is, they know of the term but do not understand the underlying concept. They use the term for a number of reasons: to keep from sounding ignorant, to fit into the corporate culture, or even to impress others who do not understand the concept. The problem, of course, is that when a person uses a term whose concept they do not understand, they quite literally do not know what they are talking about. This can lead to a very unfortunate situation when they are speaking to someone who does understand the concept, and therefore expects a certain set of actions from the speaker. In this case, use of such jargon results in a negative effect for the person who used it, even though they were trying to use it to help themselves.

Anyone familiar with a corporate environment is probably familiar with the illustration above, yet we often assume that this is not the case when working with other cultures. This is especially true of cultures with whom we share a common language—we forget that it is the culture that determines what terms map onto what concepts. In forgetting this important truth, it is very easy for us to make mistakes in communication; most of the time, these mistakes are relatively benign, but when you are working as an educator[ii] (which many charity and social development programs are beginning to focus on), the consequences of failing to understand the difference between terms and concepts can have dire consequences. This is exacerbated when there is also a language, not just a cultural, barrier.

The final lesson? While knowing the national language of a group you are working with is important, it is much more important to make sure you are communicating concepts, not just terminology. When communicating cross-culturally, you cannot just assume you know what you are saying—always seek confirmation that your message was received correctly. That is, assume you aren’t communicating well until demonstrated otherwise. This way is slower (and usually more frustrating), but generally results in much clearer communication.[iii]

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[i] For the purposes of this article, “jargon” refers to a term used without knowledge of the concept it connects to in the context you are using it. This is a bit different from the dictionary definition of “jargon” so I wanted to clarify.

[ii] I include translators in this category

[iii] Just to give you an idea of how close to home this principle can get, consider that men and women, in most cultures, have vastly different social roles, expectations, and experiences—effectively different subcultures. In the U.S., the same can be said for many racial groups, religious groups, and even political groups. As it turns out, good communication is hard. 

Back From Africa

I'm back in the U.S. after my time in South Africa and Mozambique. I've already posted about
the seminar in Mozambique, but there were a few other things that have happened in the
meantime.

More Breakdowns

Our car broke down again...and yet again! Upon our return to South Africa from Mozambique, our first stop was the repair shop to pick up our newly repaired car. We then went to SARS to extend the permit to keep the car in the country for another two weeks, at which time Al planned to head back to Mozambique with Leonard. Unfortunately, during a trip to Potchefstroom the next week, the car broke down again. Moreover, it turned out to be the same problem as before - no financial worries there, as the transmission (gearbox, in South Africa) was under warranty, but it really put a dent in our plans. As a result of the breakdown, Al had to stay in South Africa longer than planned. Leonard went back by bus, while Al waited for the car to get fixed so he could drive it into Mozambique. Just before our extension deadline was about to expire, the car was repaired - only to have the transmission blow again as it was transported from the shop! It turns out something other than the transmission was broken - and since that isn't under warranty, we will have to pay for those repairs.Al is still in South Africa, and will remain there until his return to the U.S. in mid-August (his return date was moved up once we realized he wouldn't be able to make it back to Mozambique before returning, regardless of his departure date).

Contacts

We have made several contacts in South Africa, Mozambique, and Zimbabwe who are interested in our work. Unfortunately, due to the aforementioned car troubles and the accompanying time and budget impact, we don't know when we will be able to follow up. We are hoping we will be able to meet with some of the interested organizations when we...

Return to Africa

Al and Vel are currently planning to head back to Africa in December, while I am currently scheduled to head back in January. I will spend about a month in South Africa, then head up to Mozambique to help with presenter training again. I don't have a scheduled return date yet.

Cancellations

Unfortunately, we have had some disappointments beyond the car. Due to low enrollment, the seminar we had planned for OK this month was canceled. In addition, our seminar in Haiti has been postponed a year, as our hosting organization is undergoing a restructure right now. We do plan to be in Haiti next year, but I don't know when our next seminar for the U.S. will be scheduled.

Disappointed?

All this could seem pretty disappointing, but honestly, these are simply setbacks, not defeats. The time that has opened up as a result of the cancellations gives me a chance to meet with supporters and other interested organizations in the U.S. Currently, we are in the process of setting up my fall schedule, so if anyone would like me to come out and speak at your local organization/church/group of friends/multimillion-dollar IRI charity concert, please feel free to contact me (via my e-mail, through our website, or even by leaving a comment below), and I will be happy to try work out a time to visit.

Since I didn't post last month (sorry about that!), I plan for a few additional posts this month - keep an eye out!

Seminar in Review: June, 2012 – Chimoio, Mozambique

The Insight Seminar here in Chimoio is wrapping up, which gives me an opportunity to reflect on what’s happened, good and bad. This is the third seminar we have held in Mozambique and the second Portuguese seminar. It is the first seminar in which I did not act as presenter—instead, Leonard Chetechsi took on the role of presenter. I acted as assistant and coach during and after the seminars. My main rule this time was to coach Leonard on seminar presentation and debrief with him after each session. Leonard is one of our co-workers in Mozambique and was the interpreter for last year’s Portuguese seminar. When I leave, he will be responsible for organizing and leading seminars for the next year.

So how has Leonard been doing? Overall, he’s doing a fantastic job—he’s a natural presenter, and will be invaluable in helping Mozambicans understand the new concepts we are introducing. But generalities are only worth so much, so let’s get into seminar details, what they mean, and why they’re important. For ease of reading, I will break this down by point of interest (this will probably take several blog entries to completely cover):

Point One: Schedule

 We originally were planning for me to present/oversee four to five seminars while I was here. Unfortunately, due to limited funds delaying my departure and car trouble, we ended up with three and a half weeks in Mozambique instead of our original three month plan. This left us with enough time for one seminar. In keeping with our theme of “new scheduling plans”, we decided to implement an experimental seminar schedule—instead of holding the seminar for five eight-hour days, we thought we would try weeknights and weekends. This would give participants time to work during the day. This meant we had to extend the total time of the seminar to two weeks, but we thought it was a fair trade-off.

The result was mixed. While the participants were certainly able to get more work done during the week, the cultural attitude toward time meant that each session started almost an hour late—over ten days, that drops ten hours. In addition, they participants weren’t really keen on coming over the weekend, which meant we lost additional time. Between the two, our total seminar time was cut in half. On the plus side, the participants did have extra time to think through what they were learning. In addition, the participants indicated they wanted to complete the seminar as soon as Leonard gets back from traveling with Al and I back to South Africa. Overall verdict: while the five-day schedule is inconvenient for people, it seems to provide a more complete learning experience with the fewest difficulties.  Leonard wants to conduct the next seminar using the standard schedule.

 

Next Entry: Attendance and Participation