Dave Sabol

A few hours ago, I touched down in Santiago, Chile. It was a long, but comfortable and enjoyable flight. Granted, I have been awake for 36 hours (perhaps a bit more) largely because I couldn’t get comfortable on the plane even though I was in Business Elite class on my Delta flight. There is a whole lot to write about, but my focus is pretty limited, so I will see if I can hit the high points now and follow up after I get a chance to catch up on some sleep.

I normally get an aisle seat on my flights, but for whatever reason, on my flight from Allentown, PA to Atlanta, GA I had a window seat. It’s been quite some time since I had the ability to stare out the window at everything below me and just reflect on life. Most of the flight was (obviously) spent at altitude, but leaving Allentown and coming into Atlanta, a thought came to me for the first time. As I stared at my hometown and all of the well known buildings, companies, etc. which almost seem larger than life when you are driving by them or walking into them, from the air they look pretty small as compared to the overall landscape. A similar feeling hit me as I flew into Atlanta too. I guess you could say life is all a matter of perspective and what seems large or insurmountable when you are faced with it takes on a totally new light when you step away from it or view it through a different lens.

I have a lot of work related projects going on now and many of them are highly visible, high priorty and are not done because a predecessor left them slide. If it were only a few loose ends to tie up it would definitely be manageable, but because it is a lot, it does feel a lot more difficult. However, now that I had this epiphany of sorts, it casts everything into a whole new light. Perhaps, I just need to step away from everything and look at it from a new perspective, that might just end up being the great secret to life…remembering that every issue you face and how you react to it is all a matter of perspective.

My other really interesting thought, especially from an educational perspective, came when I landed in Chile and was faced to navigate the airport (including immigration and customs) on my own. Since everything is written and announced in Spanish (and I speak very little Spanish) it was terribly confusing and at times overwhelming. What got me through were little aids that were placed strategically throughout the airport. I never realized how important icons and simple words (in English) were until today. If not for those little helpers I may still be in the airport trying to find my way out. The lesson I am taking out of this experience is the fact that as I design my learning interactions, consistency is key. If there were not universal standards for simple things (bathrooms, phones, information, etc.) many people, especially those visiting a new country for the first time and who do not speak the language, would be in a lot of trouble. I need to integrate this type of thought into everything I design and developed. And while it is discussed in courses that I have taken and in books and articles I have read, it just doesn’t sink in, until you are the one who needs the help.

My final thought rests in not speaking a native language in a place that I am visiting. Far too often I fall victim to the thought that if you don’t speak English that is your problem because it is the “universal language” especially for business. I feel like a pompus, arrogant and naive fool now, especially now that it is almost impossible for me to communicate with the eloquence and clarity that I enjoy in the U.S. Again, I see a situation that I took for granted from a whole new perspective and know that I have to find a way to synthesize and integrate this type of thinking into everything I do from this point forward. It’s not enough to recognize that we live in a global society and interact with people from many different parts of the world on a regular basis. No, it’s time to go to work on doing something about it. For my part, perhaps it will mean learning another language (fluently), but it also means that as I develop online learning it has to be universally understandable and perhaps presented in multiple language formats…at least if I want it to accomplish what it is supposed to.

Well, I am sure this was pretty random, but this is what I have learned in the past 24 hours. Amazing how changing your latitude, can lead to such a change in attitude. More later.