9 - 15 March 2017 / Costa del Sol
www.euroweeklynews.com
OPINION & COMMENT
Lost in translation
Marbella Moments by Nicole King COMMUNICATION is one of the hardest things to master as everything c a n b e i n t e r p r e te d in s o many ways, even when speaking the same language. Manners and customs also vary so greatly that simple situations can lead to misunderstandings and false conclusions. As a child I remember my family thinking that our Spanish exchange student had bad manners for not saying please and thank you for every single thing she was served. When I moved to Spain the locals made fun of me for saying please and thank you all the time when ‘once is enough’! Every story has more than one ‘truth’ so the art of communication also requires us to actually listen to what is being said in order to have a chance at correctly translating the intent of the message. A few years ago I and members of local international associations were invited to the town hall of Marbel l a f o r a m e e t i n g at 9 am with the mayor and Tourism councillor of the time.
Photo by Scratch Video Shutterstock
76
LOST IN TRANSLATION: It’s that easy for communication to break down. Even though the mayor was delayed I’m sure she envisioned us all mingling, drinking coffee and happily munching on the croissants that were laid out in the corner of the room where we waited. However, although most of us h ad n ’t h ad time for c offe e le t alone breakfast, no one even approached the coffee table. There
we all sat, some still complaining they hadn’t had time for coffee, occasionally glancing over at the table in the corner laden with the goodies. Finally one of the guests broke the s pe ll, s tood up a nd s ta rte d bringing pe ople c offe e but w e were still unsure if this was meant for later or someone else? No one
had told us it was for us. Ironically I’d also been guilty of this same oversight at the informal pre-launch cocktail for Mi Marbella Radio. I invited local international associations as an introductory ‘hello’ and provided plenty of delicious food and drinks, all spread out on tables. There was a great crowd and light-hearted atmosphere which is
why I was so surprised to receive a letter of complaint a few days later from a British couple who had left offended, thirsty and hungry because I hadn’t personally invited them to serve themselves. I’m English and I should have known this!! How simple it would have been for me to say, “please help yourself” when I had gone out of my way to make people feel welcome? I certainly meant no offence; it just simply hadn’t occurred to me. Our world is in turmoil, probably because it’s that easy for communication to break down. But it could be different. In Marbella we have 127 nationalities who live in this idyllic international community, all of us in a position to analyse our strengths and weaknesses and learn how to overcome our preconceptions and customs to embrace the possibility that if something seems negative for no apparent reason, perhaps the meaning just got lost in translation. www.rtvmarbellanow.com
Men Solutions: Who are we? Furthermore, we have two operating theatres equipped with state-of-the-art technology. In the Men Solutions operating theatre our plastic and reconstructive surgery team provides a genital cosmetic surgery service. This team has more than 20 years experience. Please feel free to contact us if you suffer from or feel that you might have any of the above-mentioned problems. Contact us here at: MADRID: Calle Menorca, 12, 28009 Madrid Tel. 913 280 603 and 673 101 012 MARBELLA: Calle Maestra Doña Carola, 8, 29602 Marbella, Malaga Tel. 951 409 875 and 673 101 012 Photo by Toeytoey
AT Men Solutions we are professionals in male sexual health with 20 years’ experience specialising in medical treatments for erectile dysfunction, male impotence and urology. In short, we successfully treat all pathologies which affect the male genital apparatus. What is our goal? As experts in urology we seek solutions for all types of erectile problems using cutting-edge technology and equipment. Our goal is to restore a man’s sexual life to the full, however, we always keep in the mind the quality and safety aspects of the treatment. Given that each man is a unique case we provide bespoke specialist treatments: from a medical check up through to a surgical intervention. From among the range of treatments offered by Men
SEXUAL HEALTH: The team has more than 20 years experience. Solutions we highlight the most frequent treatments for male sexual dysfunction: • Erectile dysfunction/impotence with a physical and/or a physiological cause • Premature ejaculation with a physical and/or physiological cause
• Lack of sexual desire • Male menopause • Peyronie’s disease (curvature of the penis) In the event that the pathologies found require corrective surgery, we have on hand a renowned staff of urologists and andrologists
from the best hospitals in Madrid, which will surgically correct phimosis, perform vasectomies, testicular surgery (for hydrocele and varicocele) and many kinds of prostate problems. We can also fit a penis prosthesis in cases of erec-
tile dysfunction with excellent results. Men Solutions’ clinics We currently have two clinics for the treatment of male sexual pathologies: one clinic in the centre of Madrid, and another in Marbella.