Was it Balki Bartokomus who used to say that on Perfect Strangers? What does that say about me that I still think of quotes from characters on sitcoms that ended almost 20 years ago!? Yowzers, I'm getting old!
Anyway, I love this country! I had a bit of fun today. After coming up with some new terms for things like "conjunction" and "noun" in one of the languages here for most of the day, we had to have some fun after work. While we were preparing for our fun, I was chatting with the women who work in the guesthouse. Man, I love those girls! They are so funny, and I'm getting to the point where I can chat with them in Arabic, and actually understand their answers :) (that is, when they think about speaking a bit on the slow side for me - when they're chatting and laughing together and getting all excited about something... I can hardly understand a word... which makes it difficult to get the punch line of any of their jokes :( ).
Anyway, we were chatting, and they figured that it's about time I got a proper name from this country. So the first name they picked out means something like, "second born girl", which is a fitting, and very pretty and appropriate name here. But then one of the guys from the language group that we're working with this week piped up and said that the word means 'snake' in his language. So, back to the drawing board on the whole naming thing.
Actually, one of the other language groups here has given me a name, "Tanga". Of course, it's very similar to my own name, but it means "cow" in their language! Now before you start laughing, I have to say that these people in these parts hold cows in very high regard. They sing songs to their cows. They whisper sweet nothings in the ears of their cows while brushing and bathing them. I probably wouldn't be far off the mark if I told you that they value their cows more than their wives sometimes. So being called a "cow" is actually quite a high compliment around here! Just don't get any ideas of what you can start calling me when I get home (yes, you know who you are...!).
So after the naming committee went back to the drawing board on finding a proper name for me, Jackie and I piled into the Landcruzer and headed over to Montana Gardens. We took 6 of the guys that we're working with out for ice cream! These guys live in the village, normally, so they had never had a chance to taste ice cream before. So, we thought since we were coming up with new terms for things in their language, we might as well have a whole new experience to go along with the new words. I wonder how they'll translate "ice cream" into their language when they go tell their families about it!
It was good fun to just sit around with them and chat and see their faces when they tasted the really cold ice cream. They quite liked it, and said that it cooled them down nicely, because this city is much hotter than the forest that they come from! Anyway, we have to eat all sorts of different things and have all kinds of new experiences when we visit their home area, so it's fun to be able to give them a completely different cross-cultural experience, as well.
So tonight, I was just thinking about how much I love this country - well, at least I love some of the people that I get to live and work with in this country!
Anyway, I love this country! I had a bit of fun today. After coming up with some new terms for things like "conjunction" and "noun" in one of the languages here for most of the day, we had to have some fun after work. While we were preparing for our fun, I was chatting with the women who work in the guesthouse. Man, I love those girls! They are so funny, and I'm getting to the point where I can chat with them in Arabic, and actually understand their answers :) (that is, when they think about speaking a bit on the slow side for me - when they're chatting and laughing together and getting all excited about something... I can hardly understand a word... which makes it difficult to get the punch line of any of their jokes :( ).
Anyway, we were chatting, and they figured that it's about time I got a proper name from this country. So the first name they picked out means something like, "second born girl", which is a fitting, and very pretty and appropriate name here. But then one of the guys from the language group that we're working with this week piped up and said that the word means 'snake' in his language. So, back to the drawing board on the whole naming thing.
Actually, one of the other language groups here has given me a name, "Tanga". Of course, it's very similar to my own name, but it means "cow" in their language! Now before you start laughing, I have to say that these people in these parts hold cows in very high regard. They sing songs to their cows. They whisper sweet nothings in the ears of their cows while brushing and bathing them. I probably wouldn't be far off the mark if I told you that they value their cows more than their wives sometimes. So being called a "cow" is actually quite a high compliment around here! Just don't get any ideas of what you can start calling me when I get home (yes, you know who you are...!).
So after the naming committee went back to the drawing board on finding a proper name for me, Jackie and I piled into the Landcruzer and headed over to Montana Gardens. We took 6 of the guys that we're working with out for ice cream! These guys live in the village, normally, so they had never had a chance to taste ice cream before. So, we thought since we were coming up with new terms for things in their language, we might as well have a whole new experience to go along with the new words. I wonder how they'll translate "ice cream" into their language when they go tell their families about it!
It was good fun to just sit around with them and chat and see their faces when they tasted the really cold ice cream. They quite liked it, and said that it cooled them down nicely, because this city is much hotter than the forest that they come from! Anyway, we have to eat all sorts of different things and have all kinds of new experiences when we visit their home area, so it's fun to be able to give them a completely different cross-cultural experience, as well.
So tonight, I was just thinking about how much I love this country - well, at least I love some of the people that I get to live and work with in this country!
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