At least SOMEBODY is happy I'm gone

[DFW]

I'm now in America for several weeks. But there was something I needed done in Barcelona, Spain today. Had to be done, no way around it. However, it involved the ONE guy there I work with that speaks languages other than Spanish or Catalan. One of them is German. Several of my Dutch guys speak German. So I asked one of them if he would do me a BIG favor, and fly from Holland down to Spain for the day, and help out my colleague there.

He's a really nice guy, very willing to lend a hand, and so he volunteered, even though he had never been to Barcelona and spoke neither Spanish nor Catalan. I gave him specific instructions where to go (one of those doors with no number or sign on it), and he told me what time he would be there if the plane was on time.

So, he got there, and took care of my work in record time (moltes gràcies!). He then had a couple of hours to kill before heading back to the airport. My guy there was so happy that they got done fast that he took my Dutch colleague to a great place a few meters from his office for a late lunch, and then he walked to the world-famous Gaudí landmark, the Sagrada Familia, and took a few (OK, more than a few) photos. On the way back, he was snapping photos like mad, and his last message to me before boarding the plane back to Holland was in English "I'll be back!"

Well, I don't know when I'll need something done in Barcelona again that just CAN'T wait for me to get back there, but should the need arise, I know whom to send. He doesn't make a fortune, but his appreciation of his job just doubled. It's always good for employee loyalty when you ask a favor, and to them, it's a perk. My head office in Dallas does that all the time. After we opened an office in Hong Kong, we offered the lowest-paid employees a revolving schedule (if they wanted it) to go to Hong Kong when we needed help that didn't need to know Cantonese. We offered them a stay of a few extra days after completing the work, at our expense, if they went. Obviously, not all outfits have work that makes them able to offer their people THAT, but it DOES inspire a lot of loyalty!

[Xipe Totec]

1. I don't speak Catalan, but Joan Manuel Serrat made me fall in love with it.

[DFW]

2. It has its own cadence

It's like a version of Langue d'Oc, sort of a southern medieval French. Texts in Catalan pre-date texts in Castilian ("Spanish" ) by about a century. When I was living there, I lived with a Catalan-speaking family, so I picked it up basically by absorption. It has several major versions, but they are very similar. Valencià, the version spoken in València, pronounces the unstressed "e" as in Spanish, whereas in Barcelona and the Balearic Islands, the unstressed "e" is pronounced like the unstressed "a." A few words are slightly different. To say "the same" in Castilian would be "lo mismo." In standard Catalan, it's "el mateix." In Valencian, it's "el malix." (pronounced "al ma-TAYSH" and "el ma-LEESH," respectively) "

Joan (Castilian: Juan) is pronounced "zhuAN," and Serrat is pronounced "sah-RRAT." If you know French or Italian, Catalan is easy to pick up, as the grammar and vocabulary is closer. E.g. Spanish uses the old Latin "comer" for "to eat." Catalan uses Mengar (man-JAH), which is more like the French "manger" or the Italian "mangiare."

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

6. I've learned a few songs in Occitan, some of Canteloube's "Chants d'Auvergne."

Occitan is related to Catalan and when you look at it at first you're not sure whether it's French or Spanish, and evidently there are a lot of dialects. It seems to be pronounced more like Spanish but not always, so I had to learn the pronunciation from recordings. It's very old. I did some research on it when learning the music and fell into a rabbit hole involving the Albigensian Heresy and the massacre of the Cathars. Interesting history.

[DFW]

12. Occitan is supposedly Catalan's closest relative

I have never seen it written or heard it spoken, so I don‘t know.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

17. This is the one I know best. Looks French-ish but it's not pronounced like French.

È passo dè dessaï!
È passo dellaï l'aïo!
Bendras olprès de ièu,
Què d'ofaïré parlorèn,
È lou restan del jiour
N'en parlorén d'amour!

Né pouodi pas passa!
Couci bouos qué iéu passi?
N'aï pas de pount d'arcados
È n'aï pas dè batéu,
Ni máï dè pastourel
Qué mè siasco fidèl!

Aurias léu un batéu
Sè tu èros poulido!
Aurias un pount d'arcados,
Aurias un pastourel
Qué té serio fidèl
È máï djusqu'al toumbel!

[DFW]

18. Wish I could hear it spoken

Looking like French but not pronounced like it is a Catalan trait as well, although this differs from Catalan more than I would have thought.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

21. You can hear it sung, here:

[jmbar2]

3. Can I come work for you?

I don't speak German or Spanish, but I would be there in a heartbeat.

[DFW]

4. If you are fluent in French, Dutch, Polish and Russian, I might find a spot.

If you are REALLY good at detecting counterfeit currency and legal tender coins of the USA going back to 1794, and willing to travel, we usually have a few spots open. Are you in northern TX? If not, do you have an EU work permit?

[jmbar2]

7. I have none of the quals you seek...

...but I am a PhD labor mkt/researcher, functional French and Japanese, Oregon, former TX.

[DFW]

11. I have been after our top brass to open a physical presence in Japan for years

If I make any progress, I‘ll get back to you.

[jmbar2]

13. Cool

What type of business is it?

[DFW]

14. I don't elaborate here on an open board.

The Serbian and Romanian mafias probably do not read DU, but it's just a loose guideline I follow, all the same. Suffice it to say that we try to keep our people happy, from the lowest to the highest, and we don't have a lot of turnover, so I guess we manage to do that.

[jmbar2]

16. I respect your discretion

You never know about those sneaky mafia types....

[DFW]

19. We have clashed with them before

Not due to anything here, but let's say there is no love lost.

[peacebuzzard]

5. this must be a culture shock to you.

If you have not been here in 3 months +.
The landscape has changed, and I am betting you feel safer in Europe.

[DFW]

10. I have not been in the States since January

But Europe has changed, too, so I wasn‘t completely shocked

[lillypaddle]

8. That's all well and good ...

today I drove my garbage to the dumpster. Take that!

[DFW]

9. I have news for you

From where I live, Spain is only a two hour flight, and I go there all the time. Your dumpster is at least an 8 hour flight and I have never been there, so from my perspective, that‘s one hell of an exotic trip!

[lillypaddle]

15. It's pretty exotic, all right

[DFW]

20. Hey, it is to me!

It's someplace I've certainly never been!