LANGUAGE BRIDGES - МОСТЫ

31 May, 2014

San Francisco

One day on a sales call in Houston, after the business at hand was transacted, my customer mentioned he was a member of an international engineering organization called мосты (pron. MOSTI) meaning "BRIDGES." It was a group of American and Russians who desired to meet each other to discuss common interests. 

I told him that sounded fascinating, since I speak some Russian. His interest was aroused and invited me to an upcoming meeting that Friday in which some SIXTY Russian engineers were coming into Houston to discuss petroleum engineering problems and solutions. 

Friday arrived, and I showed up at the large hotel convention room where the meeting was to be held. I met quite a few of the people who came early - nearly all were Americans, and not one spoke Russian. There was one, count 'em, ONE Russian interpreter hired for some 100+ Americans to talk to some 60+ Russians, as if one guy could do it all by himself!

Then the door on the opposite side of the hall opened: the Russians are Coming! And in they came and bunched together, and they stayed in a single group on the far side, 100 yards away from us.

Ten uncomfortable minutes passed, or rather were squandered in water seeking its own level. This will never do, I thought...

So I did what had to be done: I broke away from the herd, and walked alone across that barren no-man's-land, approaching briskly an equally timid group. 

As I neared the thick of it, I smiled as one old friend greets another, with a broad smile and my hand extended in friendship. My gesture was accompanied by me greeting the group in Russian.

Not a second passed before my hand was clasped firmly by first one, then another, then yet another, and I almost felt like a politician working a crowd. 

Seeing what was happening on the Far Side, a few others came over and had me do a few introductions. It wasn't too very long after that when both groups were managing to meet, and later they even sat down together at tables, and all kinds of ideas were discussed, even if only through drawings.

That evening, much was exchanged --- even if all that was exchanged between two peoples was a handshake. Sometimes a handshake is enough.

The power of one...