"Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouth, but only what is
helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit
those who listen." Ephesians 4:29
helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit
those who listen." Ephesians 4:29
"Same ol', same ol'." "Just hangin' in there." "Meh." "It's blue Monday." "Get lost." Responses to "How are you," heard all the time anywhere in the U.S. And these are called "greetings"??? I have never heard anything equivalent to these "come-backs" here in Niger! I think it's partly because greeting a Nigerien has a predictable pattern and requires a standard response:
"Sannu." (Hello, how are you?) "Ina kwana?" (How was your sleep?)
"Lafia", "Lafia Lo."(Well, good.)
"Sai an jima!" (See you soon!)
"Sai an jima!" (See you soon!)
It is a cultural mandate to greet before any conversation. And if you pass someone, you MUST greet them! No hiding engrossed in your cell phone! No just "waving" (which has a protocol of its own - another story!). No "two-thumbs-up." (In fact just keep you hands in your pockets!) No pretending you're a deaf-mute. And I think life for people in Niger is difficult, and probably never-boring, so negativity and apathy are almost meaningless.
I love how social most people are! Nigeriens seem to continuously be in conversation with someone, and love to laugh. Our beautiful houseworker, Tchima, laughs every day at my failure to learn her language of Hausa! I laugh, also, because she tries so hard and we gesture so much, and I am a hopeless case!
I have learned two things about communication:
1 - I tend to use a LOT of idioms when I talk, and pretty much nobody outside the US understands idiomatic talk. Example - Me: "Well, you hit that one out of the ballpark," means "You were more than successful in your endeavour." Meanwhile the Nigerien is climbing the wall and looking to find a ball out on the road! Me - "quick as a wink," means "very fast", but a Nigerian might think I am flirting, which would be a MAJOR offence and embarrassment! So I am trying to catch myself before I speak.
2 - Gestures are not always helpful because they are cultural, also. This was revealed to me one day when Tchima was trying to say something about sleep and she kept putting her hands low and moving them back and forth, while I was putting mine together like praying and laying my head against my hands. Nigeriens do not all have beds; a mat on the floor is where many sleep - if they even have one, so she was using her gestures to express sleeping in Niger, while I was showing the standard US gesture for sleep!
So, I plan to be more intentional about my learning some conversational phrases, and in so doing, honour, her and keep myself out of hot water . . . idiomatically speaking, that is!
I love how social most people are! Nigeriens seem to continuously be in conversation with someone, and love to laugh. Our beautiful houseworker, Tchima, laughs every day at my failure to learn her language of Hausa! I laugh, also, because she tries so hard and we gesture so much, and I am a hopeless case!
I have learned two things about communication:
1 - I tend to use a LOT of idioms when I talk, and pretty much nobody outside the US understands idiomatic talk. Example - Me: "Well, you hit that one out of the ballpark," means "You were more than successful in your endeavour." Meanwhile the Nigerien is climbing the wall and looking to find a ball out on the road! Me - "quick as a wink," means "very fast", but a Nigerian might think I am flirting, which would be a MAJOR offence and embarrassment! So I am trying to catch myself before I speak.
2 - Gestures are not always helpful because they are cultural, also. This was revealed to me one day when Tchima was trying to say something about sleep and she kept putting her hands low and moving them back and forth, while I was putting mine together like praying and laying my head against my hands. Nigeriens do not all have beds; a mat on the floor is where many sleep - if they even have one, so she was using her gestures to express sleeping in Niger, while I was showing the standard US gesture for sleep!
So, I plan to be more intentional about my learning some conversational phrases, and in so doing, honour, her and keep myself out of hot water . . . idiomatically speaking, that is!
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| Tchima and Barb |
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