Workforce Language Services

The YMCA is nothing short of a community institution in many cities and towns.  I’ve long been a member of an urban YMCA because of the wonderfully diverse and accepting environment.  While at my YMCA, visitors mostly hear Cape Verdean Creole, English, and Spanish, the Allston-Brighton YMCA in Boston has members from dozens of countries. 

A recent Boston.com article talks about cultural misunderstandings and celebration of diversity at this Y.  The article opens with an amusing incident in the steam room that resulted in cultural lessons and deepened understanding between members and staff:

Shortly after Jack Fucci became executive director of the Allston-Brighton Y, he found himself embroiled in a tempest in a steam room. 

In the tradition of their homeland, some Russian-born members were sweating it out in the nude. They would no more wear a bathing suit in the steam room than in the shower. Y rules, however, require a bathing suit, not for reasons of modesty - the sexes are separated - but of hygiene.

Fucci tried explaining that to the Russians. Using an Internet program to translate the policy into Russian, he posted it in the locker room. Within hours after the notice went up, the front desk was besieged by, well, steamed-up bathers. Something got lost in translation.

Fortunately, a Russian-speaking staff member saved the day, and Fucci can laugh about the mix-up today. It was just one of the challenges running a YMCA that really ought to be spelled with the letters U and N.

I only wish they had included more details about the translation gaffe.  And imagine that the ED learned his lesson and in the future will ask his multilingual staff to check any translations!

To read the entire article, click here.