Chamillions and Communication

I had a conversation with a friend last night about being a multi-dimensional human being. With me, what you see ain't what you get - there are so many experiences and life moments I carry that I just can't be a "typical 2nd generation Desi girl" And trying to do that just goes against my nature.

My friend called himself a chamillion. He's able to fit in to various crowds and surprise people with the layers beneath his surface. I think of it more in terms of languages and communication. I have never considered myself a strong communicator - but I'm realizing that's not true. My entire life I've been embarrassed about my writing, always thinking it wasn't good enough and believing that I was a terrible writer. My friends tried to convince me otherwise, but I never accepted it. Ok, so maybe I'm not the strongest writer or speaker... but I'm still a master of many languages. Perhaps I don't know all the grammatical rules and my vocabulary is limited, so what? I can still listen, understand, reply and get my point across - which at the end of the day I think is the most important. I can no longer believe that:

if (shobs == engineer)
then shobs != good communicator

That would be a typical engineering attitude. Ok so here's a rundown of the languages I speak.

"Formally" I speak Hindi, English and French. Hindi was the first language I learned and I spoke it with my family until I was 5. English is a given. And French I picked up in high school, reinforced in a study abroad program and rounded out with a minor in French at UCSB. I am so proud of that minor - originally engineering students weren't allowed to minor in liberal arts subjects because it would deter them from their "4 year track" Because I graduated 1.5 years late, the rules had changed by the time I applied.

I also speak a little Spanish - just from living in So Cal and being around Mexicans. But I've never invested much time into learning more. I push Spanish speakers to use their English and I encourage them by being open and understanding to what they refer to as "poor English"

I speak "bleep bleep blurp blurp" My friend refers to my engineering/computer science talk as bleep, bleep, blurp, blurp.

I speak customer service. I've worked behind the counter, behind the front desk, I've been in the kitchen and on the catering staff. Those are environments I'm familiar with. I think my love for travel draws me to those places.

I speak green. I'm all about conservation, saving, giving back to mother nature. In high school I volunteered for the Ivy Project which involved pulling Ivy off trees to save them. I also ran the pop can recycling project for Key Club where we collected cans and bottles turned them into cash.

I speak video composition, graphic design, web design, art and animation. Well I don't speak animation so well yet, but I will continue to learn.

I speak leadership. Cat crew, UCSB RHA, gymnastics coach in the US and abroad, camp counselor, career peer advisor - I have loads of leadership experience.

I speak compassion. I feel for old people, strugglers, "free loaders" hehe, people lacking education - helping them helps me. And I love animals. Pets are usually very friendly with me.

I speak corporate life. Not an environment I like too much, but I've been there. In 7th grade I was made president of a mock company - a project my teachers Mr. Filer, Mrs. Gordon and Mr. Whitten had masterminded. I was not excited by the placement... I had wanted to be the accountant. Still, I rose to the ocassion. We formed Dreamcatchers Inc. We were one of the most successful companies - turning the largest profit amongst my peers. Not being very business minded, I spread myself thin over all aspects of the company and ended up being entirely worn out.

I understand military. I've worked with General Dynamics customers, and Raytheon consultants. A large group of my classmates ended up at Raytheon, so I know the environment. I've been cleared by the Danish navy. I've traveled to SAAB underwater systems where they build torpedoes and underwater vehicles at least 5 times. I've been offered a position with STL, a very low profile government run project in Santa Barbara.

I speak Scandinavian. Even though I never learned Swedish too well, I still picked up on a lot by being there. I speak European, West Coast, and Indian. Working on the Indian part and I think my travels to India will help with that. I speak minimal Hungarian. I speak Australian and New Zealand thanks to all my friends at summer camp.

I speak adventure, unpredictability, and excitement. 6am train rides, 4am flights, my life is organized in my own mind and chaotic to everyone else. It makes it fun.