“come, let us go down, and there confuse their language, that they may not understand one another’s speech”

sometimes i feel like i am living out this well known story here in Nigeria. if i had to pick one thing that i am struggling with (and it isn’t a huge struggle), it would be communication. for example, today i stood in a tailor’s shop (after having my measurements taken for my bridesmaid dress) for a half an hour listening to the other bridesmaids talk to the tailor about the outfits. but the entire time they were speaking in Hausa. and as of right now, i only know the basic greetings. so suffice to say, i was quite lost and quite frankly, bored and annoyed.

most people speak some English here, and most are quite good at getting the general gist of their thoughts across, but i tell you, sometimes it is a lot of work to understand eachother. the order in which they put words sometimes makes no sense, and usually if there is a group of them, they won’t speak English. and they aren’t very good about being specific about what is going on and what they need from me. for instance, again today, I knew we were going to the tailor and so we were walking there and i had no idea where it was so i was just following these two other girls, who spent the entire time talking to eachother and ignoring me. so for all i knew, we could have walked for miles and miles before we got there. and sometimes at work (at both open doors and the hospital) i have no idea what is going on, which is difficult for me because i like to know what is happening, and why and when, etc.  i think i should just ask more specific questions and be more direct. which i thought i already possessed this character trait, but i think here i try to be too polite as to not offend anyone. doesn’t sound like me, eh?

even with these frustrations, i am right glad that God made different languages. i love listening to other people from other countries and trying to converse with them, regarless of how much work it is. at the end of the day, sometimes i forget how to speak my own Canadian language. i think i am going to come back with some interesting vocabulary, that’s for sure.

ah, diversity.