Paulina on the Road

In today’s #Arabic class with Leen Al Khateeb, I learned a new word: فرصة (fursa).

It means “opportunity”, “chance”, “occasion”.

And immediately, my mind went somewhere else.

In #Portuguese, there is a word that is more than a word: FORZA.

It means strength, force, the kind of energy that pushes you when things get tough. It is used in moments of encouragement, in sport, in life.

Fursa. Forza.

Probably just a phonetic coincidence across 2 completely unrelated languages.

And yet, the sound made me stop and think: what if opportunity and strength are not that different?

What if every chance you take requires a kind of FORZA to pursue it? And what if every act of strength opens a FURSA you hadn't seen before?

This is what learning languages does that nobody really talks about.

It's not just about being able to order coffee or follow a conversation. It’s also about words that make other languages click.

For example, when a sound creates a bridge between two worlds that had no reason to meet.

Every language you learn gives you a new lens and sometimes a single word is enough to change how you see the 🌍.

Which word in a foreign language has stayed with you and why?

#Languages #ArabicLanguage #InterculturalCommunication #Storytelling #HumanConnection #CrossCultural #LanguageLearning

Thank you, Leen Al Khateeb, for being the most amazing, most patient, and most kind teacher.

22 hours ago | [YT] | 1

Paulina on the Road

Sometimes the boldest career move isn't a leap forward… It's a pause.

For a long time, I had a permanent contract, stability, and something to be genuinely grateful for.

#Safety is not nothing. Anyone who has ever not had it knows that.

But something was missing: there was a gap between what I was doing and how I actually saw the world.

That discrepancy grew louder over time until I couldn't ignore it anymore.

We only get so much time on this earth, I have been painfully reminded of that more than once.

So I paused…and quit.

You can imagine the reactions. 😅

What I didn't fully understand at the time: a pause isn't empty.

It's more like a blank canvas.

And blank canvases are terrifying precisely because they ask you to figure out what ACTUALLY belongs there.

That pause created the necessary space to be receptive to opportunities that add value and are meaningful.

The first project that came from that realignment was helping to promote my home country #Luxembourg, its openness, reliability, dynamism, values I deeply identify with and would love to see more of in the world.

Finally, my hours spent at work would actually be meaningful:

they'd contribute, even if in a very small way, to a better understanding among countries, cultures, and people.

For the first time, what I DID and who I WAS finally felt like the same thing. 🌍

The pause is scary, and the blank canvas is uncomfortable, but that's exactly where the magic happens… sounds cheesy, but that’s how it works. 🙂

Magic needs space.

Have you ever taken a pause that changed everything? What did that blank canvas show you?

Watch the video on my shorts!

#Career #Purpose #Courage #InterculturalCommunication #HumanConnection #Storytelling #MeaningfulWork #DigitalCommunication

1 week ago | [YT] | 0

Paulina on the Road

What if the most underrated #SocialMedia skill isn't content creation,... but listening?

Not to trends or algorithms, but to…people! (crazy, right?) 🙂

The comment section, the DMs, the questions that come up again and again.

The replies to a newsletter.

The person who stops you on the street because they follow your account and wants to know more about your topic.

That's your audience telling you exactly what they need.

Yet, so often, we scroll past it.

Last month, a short impression from Semana Santa (Easter Week) in Spain got me a wave of alarmed comments from people who compared the traditional processions to something sinister…😔

Honestly, it was a little disheartening having to explain the same beautiful tradition for what felt like the 100th time. 😅

But instead of replying to each comment, that reaction became a reel, a short video posted on Social Media.

107K views. 544 comments. 165 new “followers” that joined the #conversation about culture, history and traditions

That content was born entirely from what the audience was already asking…all I had to do was listen and act.

And for anyone working in digital communication, the capacity to listen isn't just a #ContentStrategy.

It's how you create & add actual value and help people out.

And maybe contribute to make this world a little bit better (call me naive and living in a sugar bubble - I fully assume it😅)

The next time you're stuck on what to post, don't look so much at what others are doing.

Look at what your audience is already telling and asking you.

The content is already there! 🤍

What's the most unexpected piece of content that came directly from your audience?

Watch it here: www.instagram.com/p/DWooI73M0nu/

#Communication #DigitalCommunication #Storytelling #PublicSector #HumanConnection #InterculturalCommunication

2 weeks ago | [YT] | 0

Paulina on the Road

8 years of work, just gone 🙂

It felt…AWFUL. My IG of 35K was my little travel diary back then, a tool to connect and also, in a way, my work portfolio.

Like many other accounts, mine got suspended after sharing almost daily about what happened on 7th October 2023. (That’s why I am strongly withholding sharing political views on here - although I get VERY itchy fingers sometimes 🙂).

It was a powerful reminder that we do not own these platforms. And that we are not in control.

For over 2 months, I was debating whether to get back on the Gram or not.

I was actually very happy without social media.

But I couldn’t accept what looked like a “defeat”.

And also, I don’t want to let “them” win. (Good old stubborn Aries here).

So I decided to get back on the Gram, with an “I don’t care " attitude: posted for posting, for the sake of it.

It wasn’t until Bilweekend from Iraq reached out to work together that the account had barely 2K followers.

That trip and Iraq changed everything and gave my work on social media a purpose: to connect people and cultures through travel.

To show the beauty of places, cultures and faiths that rarely make it into the mainstream narrative.

Now, 3 years later, I am grateful for everyone joining this little community and for the friendships that made it from the online to the offline world.

Sometimes, it pays off to be stubborn.

If you have that idea in your mind, or that feeling in your gut - JUST GO FOR IT, ALWAYS!!

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1 month ago | [YT] | 4

Paulina on the Road

Working internationally sounds exciting (and it is), but it can also pull you in many directions at once.

Different cultures, time zones… different ways of working.

Over the years, I’ve developed a few habits that help me (and hopefully may help you!) to #StayGrounded while working in new cultural contexts:

1️⃣ Spend time in nature 🌿

Whenever arriving somewhere new, I try to spend time outside: a walk, a park, a beach, a forest. It resets your mind and makes you see that the world is bigger than the next business meeting.

2️⃣ Schedule time to understand the local culture 🌍

Not just the #workculture, but the culture itself: a museum, a local event, a book about the place, a conversation with someone who grew up there.

It helps you understand what matters to people there, which makes collaboration much easier.

3️⃣ Observe before you speak 👀

In international environments, the biggest mistakes often happen when we assume that communication works the same everywhere.

I love taking a moment and watching:

Who speaks first?

How direct are people?

What is said… and what isn’t?

4️⃣ Take a few minutes to connect first 🤝

Before going straight into the agenda, a few minutes to connect with the people in the room can work wonders. A coffee, a short conversation, asking how things are going on their side....

It helps create a stronger foundation for the conversation and the work that follows.

5️⃣ Leave room for the unexpected ✨

In international projects, things rarely go exactly according to plan.

And sometimes the best moments, aka "the magic", come from that. 🙂

I’m curious: what helps you stay grounded when working internationally?

#InterculturalCommunication #GlobalWork #Communication #CulturalDiplomacy #WorkingAcrossCultures

1 month ago | [YT] | 2

Paulina on the Road

They say that nothing unites people faster than #fear or #anger.😶

Looking at the world today, it may sometimes feel true.

But working across cultures has shown me something different.

In many rooms where people from different backgrounds come together, the biggest obstacle isn’t language or competence.

In most cases, not even disagreement.

It’s fear.

Fear of being misunderstood. Fear of losing ground.

Fear that someone else’s perspective might challenge our own.

And when that fear takes over, #communication doesn't flow as it should.

People start defending positions rather than exploring ideas.

Conversations become about protecting identity instead of building understanding.

But I’ve also seen the opposite happen.😍

When people enter a conversation with #curiosity rather than trying to be right, things change.

People start listening properly, and the differences in the room stop feeling like a threat... they actually become a treasure trove of resources.✨

Working between #cultures has taught me that what connects people isn’t fear or hate.

It’s the willingness to approach each other with genuine #curiosity.

And that’s often a conscious choice.

I’m curious (pun intended 😄), what do you think helps people move from defensiveness to real dialogue?

#InterculturalCommunication #HumanConnection #Dialogue #GlobalMindset #CrossCultural

📸: Picture taken in beautiful Iraq, a place I fell in love with after choosing curiosity over fear

1 month ago | [YT] | 0

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

1 month 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 month 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

2 months 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 months ago | [YT] | 0