Tokyo Post No. 1: Lost in Translation

With apologies to my dear friend Rika who strongly felt the movie was unfair to them, Japanese… I remember though that she was very adamant to hear my honest opinion on both the film and my experience being in Tokyo. This blog is how I would recall my reply was to her—that whatever reference to the movie only hovers on a literal interpretation.

I traveled to Japan upon the invitation of the Global Environmental Forum (GEF), an NGO that had a research on the corporate social responsibility (CSR) practices of Japanese companies all over the Southeast Asian region and I represented the Philippine Business for Social Progress—a well-recognized NGO that advocates CSR. It was my first opportunity to be in that lovely country and also my first to be speaking in a crowd using a simultaneous translation process.

Two hours before the symposium, my host from GEF gave a serious briefing on how the system works and what to expect. I thought it was simple but still endeavored to remember all his tips.

1. Speak in simple straightforward sentences.
2. Absolutely no idiomatic expressions.
3. Adjust the volume of earpiece.
4. Remember the voice of your translator and how her voice flows as she ends her translations.
5. Wait five beats to make sure a translation has ended.
6. Always look at the moderator (who would not be speaking in English!) for visual cues.

And it was not easy!

I had an uncomfortable “lost in translation” moment and went through rough patches the first 20 or so minutes. Thankfully, I sort of winged it thereafter… As I am the type who would prefer looking at the eyes of whoever I am communicating with, maintaining this eye contact, listening to the translator and checking on the cues from the moderator proved to be VERY daunting! The following pictures are odd reminders of how unnatural I was in that situation.

Hmm... adjust the volume and keep the hand off the earpiece, please.

May I look at the audience... but the hand...

May I now look at the moderator... still the hand.

But heck! I think I did well. An article on the symposium came out of a local newspaper and the writer kindly sent me a copy through courier. I do not know much about Nihonggo or katakana (their script) but I think this piece is a good story.

Look ma, no hand!

Fighting poverty one hug at a time

It was an ordinary day and I was catching up on some news at CNN. Then I was struck by their feature on India’s “hugging guru,” Mata Amritanandamayi. Everyday, Amma, as she is fondly called by her followers, has hordes of people from all over the world waiting in line to feel transformational love through her hug and motherly advice. Makes you wonder why a stranger has to give somebody else a hug... In an interview, she said:

"There are two types of poverty in the world, financial poverty and the poverty of love; the second is more important."

It is awe-inspiring that Amma has embraced so many lives not only in her own country… Proof of what sublime powers a simple hug can have. Know more about Amma and her philanthropic works here.

Have you had your dose of hugs today? Maybe you need to give some hug, too.

On a lighter note, if we are in a desperate need of a hug and nobody around us is willing to give us one, perhaps, we will have to be content with THIS… (Pls. click on the link to see how. Yeah, this copyright stuff can really spoil the fun.)

London Post No. 3: A constellation in Buckinghamshire

If there is one photo I would cherish the most in my entire professional life, this would be it. Or until something else bigger comes along. (I'm still young, a lot can still happen in the future :>) Gathered here is a veritable constellation of the social development world. It just so happened that my star has aligned I am somehow thrown into its nexus. This was a fascinating experience. A life-changing one. I always say 2005 was my luckiest year. Despite the challenges of a career change and the husband working overseas, all these events pointed to a positive direction.

Coming from the distorted world of PR and advertising in my previous incarnation, I always had a jaded view. Then when I was in a room with all these people, I realized there is a lot that the world could still hope for. We may never be able to erase poverty and deprivation from the face of the earth but hoping for a better future will not remain a dream. I am happy I could confidently say that to my little boy.