Typical Conversation

When I reached home after walking from the office last week, I was delighted to realize that only two or three times did I have to tell someone that I didn’t understand him or her. God helped me to parry all the other conversational gambits that came my way. =D

Here is a sampling of the kind of conversation I carry on throughout the streets of the city…if someone wants to get more involved (ask me to get him a gift; ask me to take him back to America with me; ask me to give him my contact information – I never give more than an email address!), he has to revert to English.

Me: Good afternoon!
Man: OK! How is it where you came from?
Me: OK.
Man: How did you sleep?
Me: I slept well.
Man: Where have you come from?
Me: I’ve come from my work.
Man: How was your work?
Me: It was fine.
Man: Where are you going?
Me: I’m going to such-and-such a neighborhood.
Man: To such-and-such a neighborhood! Oh, that is far: why don’t you take a taxi?
Me: Exercise! [The one word I say in English: so far everyone has understood]
Man: Oh, OK. Will you come again?
Me: I will go and come.
Man: God keep you safe on your journey.
Me: Amen! God will grant us another day (their way of saying “good night”).
Man: Amen!
Both of us: Bye-bye!

Women don’t usually interact with me as extensively as the men, although they can be every bit as amused to hear their language on my lips. Often I’m greeting a group of men, and several of them will call out comments at the same time; then I pick which questions I answer based on what I recognize (which does help to cut down the number of times I have to say “I don’t understand”).

It is a lot of work (for me) to learn the language, but amazingly rewarding as I see the joy it brings to people’s faces. How I wish you could invisibly accompany me and observe me interacting with all my new friends. =)