She said what?

September 2008 --A typical slow morning at work (or so I thought):

Dana (Filipina receptionist): I’ve been looking all over for you. Mrs. Kim is asking for two copies.
Chessie: Copies of what?
Dana: I don’t know. All she said was ‘two copies’. I assumed that you're already up to speed.
Chessie: Crap. Mrs. Kim is going to kill me. (Our boss was very stern towards people who were slow or irresponsible.)

*I find Mrs. Kim in the conference room with two visitors.
Chessie: You wanted to see me?
Mrs. Kim: Yes, yes. Give me two coffees.
Chessie: Ohhhh. COFFEE. Alright, hold on.
(I fetched them their cups of coffee, and then proceeded to attack Dana who was already giggling at her desk.)

Yes, my former office mates and I still get a kick out of remembering that story, but lately, it feels like I'm in a pirated version of a movie with bad audio and lousy subtitles. It makes me want to pull my hair out. I mean, come on, people speaking the same language have enough trouble understanding each other as it is.

But I shut up, I listen, and I muse. The the more I think about it, the more I see that this hair-pulling desire is coming from a different frustration. It's not the fact that there are different native tongues out there, because honestly, I think these things are very crucial here. Heck, would the country that I'm in right now even exist without all that diversity? I doubt it. Language helps define a nation, and without it, a country's culture wouldn't be as distinct. Or as rich. Or as beautiful. And as an advocate of all things pretty, I don't have any business putting this on the language barrier.

Besides, body language and intonation count just as much as whatever's being said out loud. Instead of "barrier", it's way better to attach "challenge" to the whole concept because it makes us think outside and beyond spoken words. There are more ways to interact with other human beings and finding them could even make us better individuals--the types who are more considerate and creative. Or at the very least, we become people who think and use our heads before opening our mouths.

Needless to say, I'm no longer in an environment where I can use my love for words as much as I'd like. Sentences need to be as brief and as simple as possible, and sometimes that means kissing those prepositions, conjunctions, and other parts of speech goodbye. I guess I just miss being around people who share the same passions that I have. Yes, that is really what's making me want to pull my hair out.

That, and the fact that I've seen how most of my Asian and Hispanic office mates work. Most of them are very smart and talented. It's just too bad that their admirable traits are overshadowed by heavy accents and slow-speak. Oh well, if all else fails, we can always hire a translator, right?