Communication

Although my husband and I are professional communicators, we often misunderstand each other, beyond the problem with my Bostonian R. He thought when I was visiting the woman who ran the knitting store I was with a Chinese Woman, Madame Yan, not Madame Yarn.

Then the other day I was fiddling around killing time. I thought he said we were to be there AT 11:30. What I hadn't heard was BEFORE 11:30. Boy did I move fast to get out of the house.

Recently, I asked him to buy muesli and that I already had oatmeal. What I didn't realize, he didn't know what muesli was and he spent a long time trying to find oatmealless-muesli. Shows what a sweet guy he is. Below is Wikipedia's definition;

"Muesli s a cold oatmeal dish based on rolled oats and ingredients like grains, nuts, seeds and fresh or dried fruits. 

Developed around 1900 by Swiss physician Mayimilian Bircher-Benner for patients in his hospital, it is now eaten as a standard breakfast dish, and also in Switzerland and Germany as a light evening dish called Birchermüesli complet: muesli with Café complet (milk coffee, accompanied with bread, butter, and jam.)"

Maybe it will be a question in the interview when he goes for his Swiss nationality. Applicants have been known to be asked things like names of local cheeses. He is now prepared in the muesli category.

We aren't alone in the miscommunication category, although cross-cultures do make it more difficult. I did tell him about how the time my Ex and I were visiting a couple we met in Germany, then living in D.C. She was German. He was American.

Our husbands were going shopping. "I need Eye-axe," Rosi told the boys. They came back with everything but Eye-Axe. She sent them out again.

Again they came back empty handed.

Finally they admitted they didn't know what Eye-Axe was until she showed them her Ajax can. "I need to clean the zinks," she said.

Rick's and my muesli moment was like their Ajax moments.

When I mishear, I cannot blame a hearing problem. We have half kiddingly said we are going to have sign off forms that say, "I understood that you said ( xxxxxx)" with a signature date and time line.

Then on the other hand if we totally understand each other, we might laugh less at our misunderstandings.