Today I had an hour and a half long meeting in Spanish with the former mayor of Bucaramanga. Easily the strangest “job interview” I’ve ever had. I didn't really want a job per se because I want to teach English, but I was encouraged to meet with him because he has tons of business connections and might know of some professional opportunity for me in Bucaramanga. Here are the highlights (some paraphrasing involved):
Me: Hi, I’m Reid, nice to meet you.
Him: Hi, I’m Jorge. This is my giant, threatening Rottweiler. You may have seen him in the movie Sandlot.
Me: (terrified and hopeful at the same time) Do you speak English?
Him: No
Me: (now merely terrified)….(crap)
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
Him: Would you like some coffee?
Me: No thank you.
Him: We have very good coffee in Bucaramanga, are you sure you don’t want some?
Me: No thank you, I don’t usually like coffee.
Him (5 minutes later): Try some coffee. Just a little one.
Me: Ok.
Him (after I try the coffee): Do you like it?
Me: No. I’m sure it’s very good, I just don’t like coffee.
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
Him: Would you like to know about Colombia in general or something specific?
Me: (thinking: I don’t have a specific question, better go with general) General.
Him: Let me get a map. (Long, but interesting speech about the history of Colombia ensues)
Him: (interrupting himself) Do you have pen and paper? You should take notes.
Me: I would like to take notes, but I need to use all of my attention to understand Spanish. I don’t think I can do both at the same time.
Him: Oh.
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
(Him asking about where I went to school, what I studied, etc)
Me: You can have my resume if you want, but it’s all in English.
Him (fake reading): It’s very pretty, very complete. Do you have other copies?
Me: No, but I can print more.
Him: You should keep this one. (hands it back to me)
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And so on and so forth for an hour and a half. Tonight I think I’m going to a piano concert. Yea, I don’t know either.
3 comments:
I think your life is already more interesting than mine ever was. I'm amazed at how you find your way into these "situations".
Love,
Dad
I think I would have cried laughing if I had witnessed this. So HILARIOUS. Colombian people will pretty much MAKE YOU eat their food and drink their coffee, at least my family does. I'm so jealous. I want to come visit.
~Liz Arcila
Was his dog really the one in the Sandlot?!? That movie kicks ass.
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