One of our smaller - might I say 'bijou' - properties, is currently rented by a lovely Polish family. They are clean, considerate and polite. They always pay their rent on time and they have been extremely easy to deal with over the three years that they have lived there. That is, except for one embarrassing problem -we just can't understand what they say!
Over time, I have managed to work out the reason for the odd phonecall or other, when a word like 'boiler' or 'carpet' or 'garden' has appeared in their stilted English conversation. The rest of the chat has been pure guess work, but obviously we haven't been far off, as whatever the problem was seems to have been addressed, and all is quiet again.
It must have been just as difficult and frustrating for them as for us, dealing with an inept landlady who cannot speak a word of Polish. But over time we have muddled along and all has been good.
A couple of weeks ago they gave us their notice to leave the property so I advertised the house and within hours had a stream of messages from people wanting to look round. One call I had was from a lady who had an unusual accent (perhaps Eastern European) and we arranged a viewing for the following day. As soon as we met and she started to talk, I knew she was Polish (although she did have a much greater command of English than our other tenant) and I guessed she would immediately like the property (which she did).
What I wasn't expecting though, was that on entering the house she recognised the current tenant and a string of animated conversation flowed forth between them, complete with excited gesticulations and facial expressions. The communication between them was highly entertaining, especially so as I had absolutely no idea what they were talking about! Suddenly I realised how it must feel to be on the other side. Not knowing the language, not understanding the subtle cultural differences, not being able to pick up on the nuances of meaning conveyed through spoken language. It was both interesting and worrying at the same time.
I thought to myself : 'what is the current tenant saying to this prospective new tenant'? Hoping desperately she wasn't saying something awful about us as landlords! Actually, my fears were quickly allayed as I was told in no uncertain terms 'You have been excellent landlords'! As I stood there, glowing somewhat in praise, I was suddenly struck by her own confidence in speaking English that had clearly improved over the few years living here in the UK.
It must have felt very strange when she first came to the UK to make for her and her family a brand new life here. I bet there were times when she felt lonely, homesick and nervous. I could of course go on here about how important it is at a time like that to have quality housing etc etc. But actually I really want to make the point that it took her a great deal of courage and faith to immigrate here and yet I baulk at the slightest project hiccup!
I have the benefit of a wide network, good contacts, a reasonable command of English (less so the local dialect admittedly!), strong links with the community and a knowledge of where to go should I need information or advice. She had none of these, and yet bravely made the move. It's true, communication takes many forms and in this instance I can say that I definitely heard a great lesson about courage in the face of nerves that no words could convey.
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