Miscommunications

I am really enjoying being back in the working world. So far I haven't had many problems adjusting to my duties, and for the most part, my days are without incident. However, every once in a while I run into some major language barriers, where I either misunderstand what's been said, or I just stand there in a cold sweat with a complete blank.

Yesterday, my supervisor was briefing me on an upcoming meeting that I am involved in. The meeting is a 'board' for the various programs in my department and I was given the instructions to read throught 'diet', student files, and programme guides to familiarize myself with what would be discussing in the meeting. Then I was told to, "Put the invigilators information and University calendar in the lever arch file" when I was done.

Unfortunately, my supervisor was busy and rushed off before I could clarify a few important details- like say, What is a 'board' or a 'diet' or an 'invigilator', or for that matter, a 'lever arch file'?

After a bit of researching (and asking around), I discovered the following:

An examination diet refers to the period of formal examination and the conclusion of an academic term.

As it turned out, the University calendar is really a catalog of the university, explaining the policies, procedures and degrees offered by the University for each academic year.

An invigilator is the person who presides over examinations. What we would call a proctor.

A lever arch file is the British version of a two ring binder with a lever that pulls open the rings.


Occasionally there are quite humorous misunderstandings. Like yesterday when my co-worker, who was looking out the window in our office remarked, "Look at those two tits! They're so small. Aw, they're lovely." To which my other two co-workers rushed to the window and heartily agreed.

After my initial shock, I managed to ask what they were talking about. Apparently, they were gazing at two young blue tits, which are not anything sinister, but are simply a small type of bird native to this area. My co-workers then went on to explain how there were Blue tits, Green Tits, White Bellied Tits, and Marsh Tits. Despite my attempts to remian professional, I couldn't help but snicker throughout their explanation.

Perhaps I am not so much of an adult afterall...