The author works in London in his second language.
Courtesy of Santiago Barraza Lopez
I built the first part of my career in Mexico, in Spanish, surrounded by a professional culture where I understood almost everything about my day-to-day life.After relocating to the UK, that shifted. English became the language of my entire working day — not just formal presentations or important calls, but emails, feedback, meetings, quick messages, office small talk, and the situations where being clear matters almost as much as being right.It was not a matter of adjusting in places; it required rebuilding everything.I'm more confident in SpanishI am fluent in English, and I have worked in it for years. I understand the conversations around me, I can do my job, and I do not feel like I am constantly translating every word in my head.But fluency is not the same as having the instinct you have in your first language.In Spanish, I know how I sound. I know when I am being too formal or too funny. I can adjust in real time because the language feels like a natural extension of my personality, not like another tool I have to manage.I started overthinking almost everything I said in the officeIn English, there is often an extra layer of attention. I may know exactly what I want to say in a meeting, but I still need a second to find the version that reads as natural, professional, and precise. I may want to make a joke, but first I have to decide whether it will land as dry, rude, awkward, or simply not funny.