This week (despite being sick with the flu) both Melody and I managed to hand in our papers for our temporary residency application. This required a trip outside of the city. The office used to be downtown. Melody made the trip with a friend who was going out there, but when she got home she informed me that they would only take my papers in person from me.
I got in the taxi with our regular faithful driver Georgii. He described the location of the office as "the edge of the world."
When I got there I needed to find the appropriate woman to speak to who was waiting for me to bring my papers in, to keep the two applications together. There was only thirty minutes before closing time. There were other people at the window. I know enough of Russian culture, that although I could not push in to take my turn, I was allowed to ask a question. I asked the other people in front of me if I could ask a question at the window. They kindly let me.
"Is T* K* here?"
"I'm serving some one else," was the reply at the window I received.
I concluded that I didn't know what to do next. Time was running out. I hadn't worked out where the woman that I needed to speak to was. A few minutes later I got up my courage to ask again.
"Is T* K* here?"
"She's working around the window."
I thought about this response for a moment as I walked away from my second failed attempt. The first time I had asked, TK was actually informing me that she was the person I sought, but she could not serve me straight away. I had failed to understand this.
Imagine yourself walking into the insurance office in your home city.
"Is James Henry here please."
(James Henry, whether he is wearing a name tag or not, standing behind the desk will reply-
"Yes, I am James Henry. Could you please wait a few minutes while I finish serving this person?"
The discourse pragmatics that we understand are culturally different in English.
The only person I am blaming here is myself. It wasn't because I couldn't understand the words that were being said to me, it was because I could not understand the discourse pragmatics of the situation. The woman was telling me "I (am the one you are seeking) am serving someone else (but I am busy right now and will help you in a minute)."
As much as I have been to various windows in official situations before, it has more often been to buy train tickets, or at a post office than at a government office. There may be a different protocol, I don't know. This is the first time I have had to observe such a context.
The good news is that I did get all my papers in before closing time. I said a big thank you for the help. I was afraid that I had ticked them off, but I think it was ok.
You live and learn.
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