A Mess Up Ain't Always a F&*# Up
Welcome back, all!
Wow...I can't believe I been living in Argentina for more than a month now. What do I even say to describe this experience? It's truly been a whirlwind experience so far. I've gathered in crowds of 100+ people, and I've enjoyed the solace of sitting alone my apartment. I've gobbled down traditional Argentine eats such as empanadas and medialunas (croissants), and I've found hidden jewels of Meditteranean food, Indian food, and even Creole food. I've found speaking in Spanish a breeze some days, while other days I get so frustrated with my (in)ability to communicate that I just want to lay in my bed and cry.
The most important thing about all of this is, no matter the intensity of the ups and downs, I give myself the space to process and I push forward. It's become so easy to over-analyze every step of our respective journeys that we get stuck and don't go anywhere.
Man, I really messed up back there. Gotta spend the next week dwelling on it.
I did a really cool thing. Let me analyze every aspect of it so that I can repeat that success identically!
Our collective obsession with perfection is going to drive us wild if it hasn't already. Cue lesson #53 that I've learned while adapting to Argentine culture: ish happens. And after it's happened, we can't change it. We can't alter it. It's done. But the beautiful thing about time is what lies ahead. If I spend all my time trying to erase and edit the words I've already written, I'll never write. We have to remember to live while we have the chance.
This week, I was given a video assignment. Basically, I had to edit footage and put it all together in a pretty video package to serve as marketing material for our social channels. When I showed it to my supervisors, they loved it! They immediately scheduled it for social and I waited for it to publish so that I could share it on my personal timelines. When the video finally did publish, it was overall very well received - it got more shares than any other video ever posted on the company's Facebook page! But there was another detail that wasn't so glittery. In talking about sign language in the caption, I wrote "lenguaje de signos," instead of "lengua de señas," the correct terminology. Within an hour of posting, there were some comments left advising us the change the wording, as "lenguaje de signos," carries a connotation that generally refers to a physical ability to hear. When I was writing the caption, I had no idea of this connotation, because for me it was a direct translation of sign language in Spanish. The cultural meaning was lost in translation. But our Argentine audience doesn't know that, and they don't care. I rushed back onto Facebook to fix my mistake. After changing the caption, I immediately sent an email to my supervisor apologizing for the mistake. I felt terrible.
"It's not a problem! It was a simple language crossing mistake and you changed it. The video was great," she said getting back to me. And then, everything sort of clicked. I was dwelling over a mistake that, in theory, I couldn't "take back" no matter how many Facebook edits I did. There was no use in sitting upset for hours upon hours at what had already conspired. Note: I am definitely not saying that mistakes, especially those that can cause offense to others, should just be brushed off. When others are affected, always, always make right by your actions. But spending forever and a day after agonizing over your mistake and continuously begging for forgiveness is a burden and headache for all involved parties. We have to move forward. In this specific case, moving forward meant replying to each and every commenter with my apologies, and making a point to create more consciously in future publications.
In other situations? While the specifics may vary, the overall message stays the same.
Just keep swimming.
Keep on keepin' on.
Keep moving forward.
Go forth and prosper.
Go.
I don't care how you say it, I care about how you do it. Adelante.
---
This week's photos!
Wow...I can't believe I been living in Argentina for more than a month now. What do I even say to describe this experience? It's truly been a whirlwind experience so far. I've gathered in crowds of 100+ people, and I've enjoyed the solace of sitting alone my apartment. I've gobbled down traditional Argentine eats such as empanadas and medialunas (croissants), and I've found hidden jewels of Meditteranean food, Indian food, and even Creole food. I've found speaking in Spanish a breeze some days, while other days I get so frustrated with my (in)ability to communicate that I just want to lay in my bed and cry.
The most important thing about all of this is, no matter the intensity of the ups and downs, I give myself the space to process and I push forward. It's become so easy to over-analyze every step of our respective journeys that we get stuck and don't go anywhere.
Man, I really messed up back there. Gotta spend the next week dwelling on it.
I did a really cool thing. Let me analyze every aspect of it so that I can repeat that success identically!
Our collective obsession with perfection is going to drive us wild if it hasn't already. Cue lesson #53 that I've learned while adapting to Argentine culture: ish happens. And after it's happened, we can't change it. We can't alter it. It's done. But the beautiful thing about time is what lies ahead. If I spend all my time trying to erase and edit the words I've already written, I'll never write. We have to remember to live while we have the chance.
This week, I was given a video assignment. Basically, I had to edit footage and put it all together in a pretty video package to serve as marketing material for our social channels. When I showed it to my supervisors, they loved it! They immediately scheduled it for social and I waited for it to publish so that I could share it on my personal timelines. When the video finally did publish, it was overall very well received - it got more shares than any other video ever posted on the company's Facebook page! But there was another detail that wasn't so glittery. In talking about sign language in the caption, I wrote "lenguaje de signos," instead of "lengua de señas," the correct terminology. Within an hour of posting, there were some comments left advising us the change the wording, as "lenguaje de signos," carries a connotation that generally refers to a physical ability to hear. When I was writing the caption, I had no idea of this connotation, because for me it was a direct translation of sign language in Spanish. The cultural meaning was lost in translation. But our Argentine audience doesn't know that, and they don't care. I rushed back onto Facebook to fix my mistake. After changing the caption, I immediately sent an email to my supervisor apologizing for the mistake. I felt terrible.
"It's not a problem! It was a simple language crossing mistake and you changed it. The video was great," she said getting back to me. And then, everything sort of clicked. I was dwelling over a mistake that, in theory, I couldn't "take back" no matter how many Facebook edits I did. There was no use in sitting upset for hours upon hours at what had already conspired. Note: I am definitely not saying that mistakes, especially those that can cause offense to others, should just be brushed off. When others are affected, always, always make right by your actions. But spending forever and a day after agonizing over your mistake and continuously begging for forgiveness is a burden and headache for all involved parties. We have to move forward. In this specific case, moving forward meant replying to each and every commenter with my apologies, and making a point to create more consciously in future publications.
In other situations? While the specifics may vary, the overall message stays the same.
Just keep swimming.
Keep on keepin' on.
Keep moving forward.
Go forth and prosper.
Go.
I don't care how you say it, I care about how you do it. Adelante.
---
This week's photos!
 |
| Taken at the Museo de Las Bellas Artes (Museum of the Beautiful Arts) by Jamie Levanthal |
 |
| Dress from Wet Seal. Head scarf from Detroit African American Festival. Melanin from my ancestors. |
 |
| Jamie, observing art. |
 |
| Hey you! |
 |
| Found the cutest café with the best tea set and really good fries! |
 |
| Scott, observing art. |
 |
| just in time for Valentines Day <3 |
 |
| smile, you're in Argentina. |
 |
| Column of the National Cemetery. |
 |
| San Telmo. |
 |
| Seen in Bellas Artes. Brown folk! |
 |
| POTATOES!!!! |
 |
| Seen in Bellas Artes. Jesus Cristo. |
 |
| Scott makes friends so easily here. |
 |
| Jamie y yo |
 |
| So get this...this is an entrance to a bar! It's a password only bar and then you enter a *secret* code into the phone, then that glass wall opens. No lies. |
 |
| Remember that café I mentioned earlier? |
 |
| So Scott joined an Argentine band as their sax player! |
Until next time
XoXo
-Si
Comments
Post a Comment