I have reached a point in my French speaking development where I know immediately when I have said something grammatically or vocabularally wrong. Sure I might not know how to actually say it like a local, but at least I can recognize I sound like an idiot, accept it and move forward in making myself understood.
It was not always this way.
My second week in Ango I found myself examining the work of a local carpenter school we had hired to build some shelves for our new health depot. They were unstable and when he added the triangular bit I asked for, it was indeed stable... but totally lopsided.
I kept saying "J'ai souris que ce n'est pas doit."
For some reason this was not getting through. The conversation resembled an exaggerated game of charades that eventually resulted in solid 90 degree angled shelves.
A few hours later that morning I asked someone to do something for me.
"Pas de soucis." They replied.
Fast forward to mid afternoon when I nearly exploded out of my face in the middle of an OCHA cluster coordination meeting trying to hold back my laughter. Really, it was difficult to hold it together...
That morning I had spent nearly 20 minutes explaining to the carpenter, "I have mice that it is not straight. You see? It gives me mice. I have mice that it is not stable."
Ango awesomeness.
It was not always this way.
My second week in Ango I found myself examining the work of a local carpenter school we had hired to build some shelves for our new health depot. They were unstable and when he added the triangular bit I asked for, it was indeed stable... but totally lopsided.
I kept saying "J'ai souris que ce n'est pas doit."
For some reason this was not getting through. The conversation resembled an exaggerated game of charades that eventually resulted in solid 90 degree angled shelves.
A few hours later that morning I asked someone to do something for me.
"Pas de soucis." They replied.
Fast forward to mid afternoon when I nearly exploded out of my face in the middle of an OCHA cluster coordination meeting trying to hold back my laughter. Really, it was difficult to hold it together...
That morning I had spent nearly 20 minutes explaining to the carpenter, "I have mice that it is not straight. You see? It gives me mice. I have mice that it is not stable."
Ango awesomeness.
1 comment:
Oh lordy, that is funny!
It is funny, cause sometimes I feel that way about English... I really think I'm being clear about my actions or language... and low and behold I look like a stinkin idiot. (take for example all of those songs and stories i always messed/mess up)
As dad always says, it is about the journey.
Courtney, I adore you.
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