This document discusses the author's experience working as an administrative coordinator for an international project in Cape Town, South Africa. Some of the challenges they faced included frequent travel with little notice, organizing transfers for 9 people, and reconciling differences between Italian and South African cultures. Issues like tight schedules, homesickness among expatriates, different approaches to work-life balance, and language barriers sometimes led to frustration. The author learned that adopting a stance of cultural neutrality, respecting differences, and taking time to adjust are important for navigating intercultural work. Their client's advice to "slow down" proved valuable for truly understanding Cape Town. The author feels they grew personally and professionally from this demanding experience.

1. Intercultural experiences
Slow do w n, it ’s Cape Town!
Photo:AntonioIannitti
16 46.2015 proActive
IF I HAD TO SUM UP A YEAR OF WORK WITH OUR
CLIENT IN CAPE TOWN, THAT WOULD BE MY MOTTO.
On September 2013, my former boss (VP of Marketing and
Communication) asked me if I would like to act as Administrative
Coordinator for an international project in South Africa.
It was an important job that would involve colleagues from
several departments, and a unique experience in my career.
The first months entailed frequent travel to and from Cape
Town for our project team, with little or no notice: and
additional to my long list, I had to organize the transfer for
9 people. Other than the difficulties due to lack of time, to
our rigid travel company policy and to the obvious different
regulations between countries, what suddenly struck
me was that I needed to work hard to reconcile two very
different cultures too.
A good Admin should be able to understand diversity and
to align her thoughts and behaviour to manage it effectively,
learning to use those differences to her advantage,
and getting the maximum benefit from it. After the first days
of excitement, problems occur and frustration sets in.
Expats may feel depressed and helpless. Add to this mix a
tight schedule to deliver a tender in time and you’ll have
the recipe for disaster. I was working remotely from Italy and
sometimes it was a huge disadvantage, because the kind of
help my colleagues requested was often for basic assistance
(call, video-conference, ticket…..). It must sound strange
that a bunch of super skilled professionals could feel totally
bewildered by a different culture, but it happens more often
than we may think. For instance, our host thought it would
have been nice and welcoming to book accommodations
at the sea with a golf course nearby. Instead, our first thought
was: “Oh my gosh! We are 50 km away from the office
location; we will lose a lot of time commuting! We have to
relocate asap to a hotel in Cape Town!” As you can see,
even something apparently so innocent can be source of
stress and create a rift between people. The locals are used
to getting home from office at 5.00 pm, after arriving at 8.00
in the morning. We had far different timetables; we didn’t
go home until everything was in order and we were totally
concentrated on delivering the tender in time.
“NONE OF THESE LIFESTYLES IS BETTER THAN THE OTHER;
THEY ARE SIMPLY DIFFERENT.“
Another big issue is language. Communication can become
a problem in workplaces where some workers speak English
as a second language. Speaking is sometimes not so clear,
because your thoughts are not fully aligned with your words.
Even if English business jargon is the same (almost) everywhere
in the world, sustaining a full immersion in another country
can be challenging.
> My suggestion is always to try an approach of cultural
neutrality: be aware of your culture, respect cultural
differences and reconcile differences. Living in a new place
always takes a bit of time to adjust. The best piece of advice
we got from our client was that if we really wanted to get
under the skin of Cape Town, we had to slow things down.
In the following months, our clients reciprocated with several
business visits to Italy. My first impression was fully positive:
they’re warm, they say what they think and they have an
easy-going attitude. It’s a pleasure to work with them, since
they don’t like competition as much as we do in Milan!
I learned a lot about facing difficulties, how to adapt my
behaviour to new situations and to not always want to be
the best in everything. There’s always room for everyone in
life. I feel enriched as a person, as well as a professional
Admin by this demanding experience. The sum of this
wonderful year is that now I am longing to go there and
see with my own eyes what I have only heard about.
Selvaggia Fagioli,
Member EUMA Italy