The Spanish More To Life Weekend – May 13-15, 2011

It is done!  The first More To Life Weekend in Spain AND the first More To LIfe Weekend using simultaneous translation – It Works!

William Holt and I heard Spanish in one ear and English in the other, as did the participants. We kept our eye on Marisa Hidalgo, who was in an extended phone booth contraption with Pere, the other translator.  One of the delights of the weekend was hearing Marisa mimic our emphasis and tone of voice, and seeing her hands in constant motion behind the glass wall, gesticulating as if she were in the front of the room.  She was INTO it. We had our hand signals agreed ahead of time, and when we got ahead, her “stop” signal was emphatic, as was her “go” signal. She and Pere were essential to the success of the weekend.

We had our esoteric words worked out in advance – shock vital (lifeshock), charla mental (mindtalk), atento (notice). There are several words in Spanish that mean “notice,” so “atento” worked for the “notice signs” and “darse cuenta” worked for “noticing” in the I Am Structure. Hashing out which Spanish words were the closest to meaning what was intended by the English words was a most interesting exercise – clarifying for all of us.

We also made a few adjustments to the weekend in order to accommodate the Spanish culture – like dinner at 10 or 10:30pm, instead of 6 or 6:30pm.  But the essence of the weekend, the intent of the weekend, and the outcome of the weekend were the same as usual – with one exception, these people were the innovators. 

If my memory serves, I’ve been one of the trainers to lead the first MTLW in eight different places so far. And in each of those places, the team and participants involved in those weekends are initiators, pioneers, trail-blazers – open to new experiences, trusting themselves enough to jump into an adventure they know little about. Working with people like this is pure pleasure…and truly kept us on our toes!