Sometimes when you are in a different cultural venue, misunderstandings abound.

First, you should know that I grew up in Ecuador as a Missionary Kid (MK). I learned Spanish from all over Latin America. So, when I arrived in Spain, I was able to pretty quickly integrate into the environment with little to no cultural shock. Something that most others experience at much greater levels when living in a new country with a new language.

Second, Spanish as a language is not universal. It has shifted and some words have changed over time and distance from its origins.

Third, I help IMM by connecting with Spanish people as the onsite Cultural Liaison. Which is a fancy title that basically means, I speak Spanish and do other stuff gooder too…most times.

The amount of work that goes into planning for a film shoot is incredible. It can be overwhelming when you are new to the whole film scene and maddeningly drowning when tossed into the middle with no point of reference for a lot of the items that need to be handled all at once. Fortunately, MK life had lent itself to helping me right my boat fairly quickly and chug on in these times! The prep time for what is known as Pre-Production in Filming is not like Phase 1, Phase 2, Phase 3, and then FILM. If a close approximation could be made, it is more like Phases 1-5-x-pancakes-1.2-purple/blue-2-3-4-NUTS! back to Phase Flapjacks. So in a flurry of internet searches, e-mails, and calls, the Director assigned me to track down some information on where we can acquire a pair of extremely specific Roman soldier shoes. Now I love accuracy in movies as much as any person, but let me tell you. The IMM Team puts such a high emphasis on making sure that it is historically accurate that I am sure even doctoral candidates could use The Heritage Project series as source reference material. I mean with very little exaggeration…the nail imprints of the sandals need to be this shape, not that shape because…well, history and accuracy obviously! All that to say, we had to special order these particular Roman shoes. Before we did that, the Director gave me a number to call – a personal contact of hers. She WhatsApp-ed me the phone contact of a costumer at a historical theme park here in Spain. I was asked to check with this person to see where they sourced their shoes. I had never met this person and I was still relatively new to Spain and its customs. I read the contact info she had sent. Call Juan Friki at +34 555 55 55 55 (First name and phone number have been changed to protect the innocent). So I call. RING-RING…RING-RI..¿Hola?. In Spanish, I say “Hello, are you Juan Friki?“ He is perturbed (read as upset and suspicious) and asked how I got this number. I let him know who I was, and also who the Director is, at which point he softens up when he recognizes my Boss´ name. I got the info that I needed about the shoes and hung up with him. I then reported back to the Director about the phone call and how it went. She started laughing.

So here is the inside joke. In Spain, FRIKI is a slang term for UBER-OBSESSIVE NERD. She had saved his contact info in a way that helped her distinguish which Juan was whom on her phone. So, I basically called up some guy I did not know and asked him out of the blue if he was Juan Uber-Obsessive Nerd. Imagine his surprise. I mean, what did I know, I thought that was his last name! After a good laugh at my mistake, I had to admit to myself that I might need to take it slower than I thought necessary in some ways.

Sometimes we have to learn to laugh at ourselves because if not we will crack under the pressure of being in a whole different environment. Being a missionary and working on films that touch different cultures and beliefs around the world is not easy. However, here at IMM we are FRIKI when it comes to quality and accuracy. We desire nothing less than to serve our King with our best and ensure that the viewer is not distracted from the heart of the message by anachronisms. 

Be on the lookout for the next installment of The Heritage Project (Season 2) COMING SOON!

And YES, I am IMM Friki! 

Are you?

Comment and let me know.