🌐 Lost in Translation

When Ana started working for a British company, she thought her English was excellent. She had studied it for twelve years and could discuss almost anything. What she wasn't prepared for was the way her colleagues actually spoke.

In her first meeting, her manager described her proposal as "quite interesting". Ana was delighted — until a colleague explained later that it probably meant he didn't like it at all. Another time, someone told her to "break a leg" before a presentation, and she was really shocked.

Gradually, Ana learned to read between the lines. She noticed that British people often softened criticism and used humour to deal with awkward situations. Now, two years later, she jokes that she speaks two languages: English and British. "The words are the same," she says, "but the meaning often isn't."