But I try. When locals greet me in Chichewa, I try to respond correctly. My responses are almost always met with a friendly high-five/handshake and laughter. Huge smiles assure me that they aren’t offended by my lack of Chichewa knowledge. Being a person who likes to know what’s going on around her, I surprisingly don’t mind not knowing what people just said to me. I don’t mind the laughter at my response. Strangely enough, it makes me feel a little bit more connected to them. I try, and they seem to appreciate it - and then it doesn’t matter that I said the wrong thing, that I didn’t know what on earth they said. We just laugh and enjoy the moment together. That’s the important part of conversation. It’s meaningful to know the language of the people you are serving, but it’s just as important to make that connection with people by being friendly.
Monday, June 1, 2015
Chichewa
Random person: “Muli bwanji!!”
Me: "Um… ndini bwino! Zikomo! How are you?”
And that’s the extent of my conversational skills in Chichewa, the local language here in Malawi. Often, the greeting will be a little bit varied, with another word in front of the “bwanji.” I have no clue what they mean. People have tried to teach me, but I don’t pick up languages quickly at all, and in my work, I don’t get much practice.
But I try. When locals greet me in Chichewa, I try to respond correctly. My responses are almost always met with a friendly high-five/handshake and laughter. Huge smiles assure me that they aren’t offended by my lack of Chichewa knowledge. Being a person who likes to know what’s going on around her, I surprisingly don’t mind not knowing what people just said to me. I don’t mind the laughter at my response. Strangely enough, it makes me feel a little bit more connected to them. I try, and they seem to appreciate it - and then it doesn’t matter that I said the wrong thing, that I didn’t know what on earth they said. We just laugh and enjoy the moment together. That’s the important part of conversation. It’s meaningful to know the language of the people you are serving, but it’s just as important to make that connection with people by being friendly.
But I try. When locals greet me in Chichewa, I try to respond correctly. My responses are almost always met with a friendly high-five/handshake and laughter. Huge smiles assure me that they aren’t offended by my lack of Chichewa knowledge. Being a person who likes to know what’s going on around her, I surprisingly don’t mind not knowing what people just said to me. I don’t mind the laughter at my response. Strangely enough, it makes me feel a little bit more connected to them. I try, and they seem to appreciate it - and then it doesn’t matter that I said the wrong thing, that I didn’t know what on earth they said. We just laugh and enjoy the moment together. That’s the important part of conversation. It’s meaningful to know the language of the people you are serving, but it’s just as important to make that connection with people by being friendly.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment