European communication

This is one of those days where I realise that European communication can still be improved.

Having used the fourth language today (plus some words of politeness in a fifth) to communicate with people of about six or seven nationalities in order to get my private and work communication done, I feel quite exhausted. Not so much because of the different languages, but also because of the different levels of communication and the number of issues involved. And yes, it's also Friday.

Additionally, since the understanding of time and deadlines by some of the partners is also quite different from my own, issues that could have been solved 10 days ago will have to be solved today, no matter how long it will take. We might even have to extend the usage of the fifth language to do so - but why not.

That is also Europe: Many languages working on the same questions and on different questions at the same time, with a lot of room for misunderstanding and delay. Most of the time it is a lot of fun, but sometimes, when several issues in several languages need equal attention, it can get confusing. My favourite mistake today: "Englais" (for those speaking French, you will understand what I mean...).

With these remarks I wish you all a pleasant weekend; I won't probably have the time to blog until Monday, especially if today will be longer than expected.