A few months ago, a new sewing lady started renting the shop beneath our flat for her sewing business. Soon after, it appeared that the shop had become her home too, and she could be heard working at all hours of day and night, while her little boy occupied himself with sticks and tin cans and other pieces of rubbish he found in the street.
Maman Christian, who we share a courtyard with, has taken the lady and her little boy under her wing it seems, even if the two ladies are frequently heard yelling at each other in an African language! The sewing lady now uses our courtyard to do her washing and cooking too.
Today, we arrived back from school to find the lady washing some clothes in the courtyard. The short conversation that ensued reminded me that communication is not just a matter of words!
[We enter the courtyard on the motorbike]
Sewing lady: Bon arrivé !
Me: Merci, bon travail !
Sewing lady: Tu as fait un pain ?
Me: (Surely she doesn't think I've made bread. Perhaps she means that she's made bread.) Tu as fait un pain ?
Sewing lady: Non, tu as fait un peu ?
Me: (I've done a bit? What sort of sentence is that? A bit of what?) J'ai fais un peu ?
Sewing lady: Oui, un peu de travail ?
Me: (A bit of work! Of course, I should have guessed....!) OHHHHH ! Oui, j'ai enseigné à CEG3 ce matin. C'est bien passé.
Lol... Will I ever get used to these seemingly unfinished sentences and get skilled at guessing the meaning?!
As Quentin says, "Sometimes you understand every single word a person says but you have no idea what they are trying to tell you!"
Living in another culture is funny. Some people here must think we are really stupid at times!! :-)
Maman Christian, who we share a courtyard with, has taken the lady and her little boy under her wing it seems, even if the two ladies are frequently heard yelling at each other in an African language! The sewing lady now uses our courtyard to do her washing and cooking too.
Today, we arrived back from school to find the lady washing some clothes in the courtyard. The short conversation that ensued reminded me that communication is not just a matter of words!
[We enter the courtyard on the motorbike]
Sewing lady: Bon arrivé !
Me: Merci, bon travail !
Sewing lady: Tu as fait un pain ?
Me: (Surely she doesn't think I've made bread. Perhaps she means that she's made bread.) Tu as fait un pain ?
Sewing lady: Non, tu as fait un peu ?
Me: (I've done a bit? What sort of sentence is that? A bit of what?) J'ai fais un peu ?
Sewing lady: Oui, un peu de travail ?
Me: (A bit of work! Of course, I should have guessed....!) OHHHHH ! Oui, j'ai enseigné à CEG3 ce matin. C'est bien passé.
Lol... Will I ever get used to these seemingly unfinished sentences and get skilled at guessing the meaning?!
As Quentin says, "Sometimes you understand every single word a person says but you have no idea what they are trying to tell you!"
Living in another culture is funny. Some people here must think we are really stupid at times!! :-)
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