Asking, listening, waiting

Lately it seems as if Chris and I have spent a LOT of time discussing our future plans for this next year, and we don’t really seem to be getting anywhere fast. We had a great meeting with our Kenya connections last week, but it illuminated some cultural differences we are bound to encounter in the next year. How do two parties, who both have potential goals and interests, approach an ambiguous situation? What questions do they ask each other? How do you approach delicate topics, like money, religion, gender relationships, and HIV? Once you have a discussion, how do you even determine if you are on the same page?

Sometimes in my current workplace I take our communication styles for granted. I know who I need to be delicate around, who I can tell bluntly when I disagree. I know that they know that I have a tendency to be rather task-oriented – and therefore are not offended when I say, after some discussion, “okay, so what’s our conclusion? What’s the next step?” When I am speaking with someone from another culture, are those questions appropriate, or are they taken in the wrong way? Some things this process is teaching me (among many others) is the importance of flexibility, patience, and embracing ambiguity*.

Throughout the last few weeks it has been quite a challenge for me – planner, future-thinking me – to cope with having to determine the future course of my job placement and how that affects my current employer. Thankfully my supervisor and colleagues have been supportive as we try to figure out these details, but it’s frustrating even to me.

More to come soon on our future plans … but for now, we are asking questions of ourselves, each other, our international connections, and God; listening to our hearts, our friends and family, and spiritual advisors; and waiting.

*I did not coin this phrase. A favorite professor of mine used it during the first day of class – a course entitled Organizational Innovation. When we sat down at empty desks he said “Your syllabus is in front of you. Embrace ambiguity!” It challenged me all quarter and clearly is still a significant area of growth in my life. Thanks, Karl!

ps. I think the font/spacing are messed up on here but I don't really know or have patience to try to fix it. Sorry!