Paulina on the Road

Lately, I’ve been paying more attention to the kinds of conversations I’m drawn to.

Because somehow not every exchange creates energy...😔

But some definitely do! 🤩

These are the ones that currently fuel my batteries:

1️⃣ Honest, sincere conversations 🤍

The ones where people say what they actually think. Without a strategy or a hidden agenda. Just saying things as they are, even if it’s controversial.

2️⃣ Conversations with people who are ahead of me 🌍

Not because of their titles, but because of how they see things. People who’ve experienced more and aren't afraid to share about it.

3️⃣ Conversations that create something in the moment ✨

The ones you didn’t plan, where you connect and suddenly you’re building something together without even trying.

And something new and #creative comes out of it.

More often than not, these are also the conversations where the most #meaningful work begins.

If this resonates with you, feel free to connect. I’m always open to those kinds of exchanges.

#MeaningfulConversations #HumanConnection #Communication #Collaboration #DigitalCommunication #Intercultural #WorkRelationships

5 days ago | [YT] | 1

Paulina on the Road

My beloved Mother, may God bless her, grew up as the daughter of diplomats. 

She moved countries at a time when travelling was still considered a luxury few couldn’t afford, or a burden many wouldn’t dare to take on.😅

Encouraged by her parents, she would follow her curiosity and visit countries considered too far or too exotic - especially as a woman. 💪

I still remember how she’d talk passionately about her travels in the 70s and 80s to Egypt, the US or the Arab World. 

Her eyes would glow!!🥹

Looking at this photo of my mother today, I had a painful realisation.

Today, I would not be able to recreate it.💔

She was lucky to witness #Jerusalem as a symbol of what happens when we focus on what we share (rather than what separates us). 

The city that has held 3 faiths within its walls for centuries, a proof that it’s possible.

Today I see this photo as a reminder of what’s at stake when we forget that. 

This #Easter - whatever you’re carrying right now - may there be ease on the other side of it. 🤍🌷

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1 week ago | [YT] | 1

Paulina on the Road

Probably one of the hardest things I’ve learned working between cultures is... when NOT to step in. 😅

This happened during #Expo2020 Dubai. We were about to film a TV sequence with a local team and were just minutes away from going live.

Everything had already been discussed, and the concept was clear... or so I thought.☺️

And still, there was a lot of talking.

Things were getting changed last minute. Adjustments, new ideas…

I could feel myself getting nervous and my instinct was to step in: bring things back to the plan and make it “work”.

Maybe it was my gut feeling that reminded me that we were guests in that context, and I held back.

And what happened next surprised me.

The sequence turned out to be so full of life!🤩 So natural, alive, real and hence... refreshing.

Sometimes, #restraint is about knowing when to speak and when to let things unfold.

Because a very particular magic grows from LIFEly things.✨

When have you held back in a situation and later realised it was the right call?

#CrossCulturalCommunication #Intercultural #Communication #CulturalAwareness #Storytelling #WorkplaceCulture

1 week ago | [YT] | 0

Paulina on the Road

#Communication can fail more often because of ego than because of language.🫢

This happened early in my career, when I was still working in Madrid.

We were sitting in meetings with clear goals, everyone spoke the same language and was experienced in their own way.

On paper, things should have moved forward easily.

But they didn't: the discussions went in circles. 🙈

The ideas overlapped and positions were re-stated again and again.

I remember sitting there, listening and waiting for what I thought was the right moment to speak.

In the #MeetingCulture I was used to, you waited for a pause, a space for you to speak.

Just… that moment never came.😅

At the time, I thought the problem was the Spanish #WorkingCulture or me.

I was young and new, and I assumed I didn’t yet have the right words.

Only much later did I realise it wasn’t really about #language or culture.

It was about how everyone, myself included, held onto their position.

Once you start noticing that, you can move things forward in small ways, like asking a question instead of adding another opinion.

And that’s usually when things start moving again, because things start flowing & growing when people are willing to shift... even a little.🌱

I’m curious, have you ever noticed this in a meeting?

#WorkplaceCulture #InterculturalCommunication #CulturalAwareness #Collaboration #HumanConnection #ListeningSkills

2 weeks ago | [YT] | 0

Paulina on the Road

Once I said "no, thank you" to coffee at the start of a meeting, somewhere between #AbuDhabi and #Dubai. ☕️

We had just sat down, exchanged greetings, and small cups of coffee were offered around the table.

When it reached me, I smiled and said..."No, thank you". I had already had 3 coffees that day and didn’t feel like another one.

Everyone nodded, the cups were put aside, and we went straight into the agenda.

The meeting was polite, but the exchange stayed quite formal, without much back-and-forth.

Only later did I understand that having coffee wasn’t really about… coffee (or caffeine). ☕️

It was how people got into the meeting and connected before starting the actual discussion.

By refusing, I had skipped the starting point, which would have strengthened the foundation and, in turn, led to a greater sense of #community among the participants and most likely to a better outcome.

Sometimes an offer isn’t about what YOU want at that moment.

It’s about taking a minute to get on the same wavelength before getting to work. 🤝

And sometimes, that simply happens over having a coffee… TOGETHER.

I’m curious. Have you ever had a cultural misunderstanding like this?

#CrossCulturalCommunication #Communication #Intercultural #CulturalDiplomacy #PublicDiplomacy #CulturalAwareness #GlobalMindset

3 weeks ago | [YT] | 0

Paulina on the Road

In the classroom, you’d hear different languages all the time: students talking to each other in #French, #German, #Luxembourgish, sometimes #Portuguese, #Bosnian, or #Arabic. 🌍



If you grow up in #Luxembourg, changing languages is just normal, from kindergarten on.



You do it at school, in shops, at home. And you don't consider it a special skill, as it's just how life works here (since a very long time, actually).



And, in hindsight, it taught me something about living with “difference”:

when "difference" is constant, you stop assuming your perspective is the default.

It's easier said than done, but you learn to listen first and accept that others may see the world differently.



Even if that challenges assumptions you didn’t even realise you were actually having.

What I appreciate most, looking back, is that "difference" in 🇱🇺 isn’t seen as something exceptional.



It’s part of everyday life - just like #Schueberfouer 🎡 and #Gromperekichelcher 🥔. And when that becomes the default, you learn to belong without needing to be at the centre.



Over time this affects how you speak, how you listen, and how you move through unfamiliar situations.



Sometimes I wonder how often things get complicated simply because we expect everyone to think like we do.



I’m curious, what place taught you something about how to live with "difference"?"

4 weeks ago | [YT] | 0

Paulina on the Road

How many times the mosaic of the 3 monotheistic religions was broken... not by the religions themselves, but by something else entirely.

Because if you actually go back to the texts, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam share more than most people realise.

The same roots, the same prophets.

The Quran even has a name for Jews and Christians. "Ahl al-Kitab". The People of the Book.

Maybe we were never supposed to be strangers.

So I keep coming back to the same question...if the religions themselves point toward connection, what exactly kept breaking them apart?

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4 weeks ago | [YT] | 1