As a Realtor, I have the privilege and pleasure of working with people who have come to Atlanta from many countries and cultures. In fact, this opportunity to make friends from so many places and learn about and appreciate their customs, is one of my favorite pieces of the relocation puzzle. The bad part for me, though, is when my clients move back to their home country after their home is sold! As a result of sales this past year, I now have friends in The Netherlands and Columbia, but I have new friends from Pakistan and Ireland!
Even in my Keller Williams office of 100 agents, we are a very diverse group of people from many countries. Countries represented among my colleagues include India, Iran, U.K., Italy, Peru, Argentina, New Zealand, and I’m sure several others that I have missed. I’m from Wisconsin, and of course, my friends give me a hard time about my “accent”. “What accent”?
So, my agent friends and I thought it would be fun and educational to put together a panel discussion featuring the agents in our office who have come to us from other countries. Our first Cultural Awareness Panel Discussion was even better than I had hoped, and we all learned so much about each other! Our primary goal was to learn more so that we could make a better impression when working with international clients, but I think something even more important happened. We began to realize that even though we come from so many places with such different customs, all people need to be listened to and appreciated. We love to feel welcomed and respected. Isn’t it great that a smile is the same in any language?
Linda
Very very nice and so true!
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