Ndikuphunzira Chichewa...

Muli Bwanji?
How Are You?

Well... my language learning is coming along quite nicely.

I finally got a language helper that I meet with once or twice a week for an hour or so. He is a great guy from the church that I go to here.

I am building up my vocabulary little by little.

One of the best things I did for myself was labeling my entire house in Chichewa (as seen in the picture above)!

So now, every time I use the restroom, I stand there and repeat the word aloud until I'm done. Let's just say that I know the word "Chimbudzi" better than any of the others!

But, I've also labeled most of my food items. So, while I'm cooking at night, it's a nice little Chichewa lesson.

In a lot of ways, the language is much easier to learn than English is. However, there are a few things that make for substantial stumbling blocks.

Overall though, I am making progress... and people are noticing!!

Every once in a while, I will whip out some phrase that I know and shock people.

However, the other day, I was getting a little too comfortable with myself when I was walking through my yard. I walked past this little girl...

Rachel...

She lives on our property... so, she was no stranger.

But, she was wearing this really nice little dress... and I wanted to be a nice good male figure in her life and tell her that I thought her dress looked pretty.

So, without hesitation, I said...

Ndikufuna delesi.

Immediately I knew that the wires didn't cross right in my brain... my mouth did not communicate what my English brain meant to say.

I said: "I WANT your dress."

I stood there for a second kinda stunned, while she was just staring at me like I was some mixed up, cross-dressing, white man. The bad part was that my mind was blank as to how I could correct myself.

So... In a really awkward, Ryan manner, I just fumbled around and said, "No" and walked off.

I felt like a complete idiot.

So... I guess what I'm saying is that I have got to the point where I have just enough language expertise to make a fool out of myself.

Language & Adaptation...

Perhaps I'm a bit of a pushover... I don't know. But, it seems like every since I have arrived here, I have been trying my hardest to try and speak like people I am around.

It happens with everyone...

To the Canadians I say "Ehh?" and "Sorry" (vs. Saarrrry in Texan)

To the Brits I say things like "torch" (vs. flashlight) and try really hard to speed up my speaking so I don't sound "too slow".

To the Germans I try to change my voice inflection a little... but, who am I kidding, I probably sound like an elephant to them!

I have managed to convince a good number of people that I am from anywhere except America.

But, through my strivings to be someone else, I find myself longing to just scream things in Texan!

The other day, I slipped up and said the unthinkable...

Y'all.

My friends just kinda looked at me and laughed.

But, I miss my Southeast Texan drawl.

I miss mumbling "Dad gum it!" when my diced tomatoes fall on the floor, or when I don't push down the clutch far enough before I try and shift.

But, I've noticed something...

I seem to be the only one conforming.

I have yet to notice anyone willfully trying to slur every word out to its maximum length in order to sound like they are from Mississippi (sarrryy).

Everyone else just talks like they normally do, and hope that people figure it out.

It is funny, however, how messed up our language really is.

You don't really notice it until you have to try and explain it to someone that is learning...



Meet Jackson.

Jackson makes sure that no one climbs over our wall at night and tries to steal everything I own. More importantly, Jackson is a good friend.

He's trying to improve his English a little, so I got Mom to send him a nice, compact English dictionary. He absolutely loved it! The next night when he came back, he was carrying it along with his Bible as nighttime reading material, and he had made a nice little book cover in order to protect it.

I was visiting with Jackson tonight, and we pretty much just talked about words in the dictionary... not much unlike a standard Thursday night in a college town.

He asked me several words that I figured were pretty standard for me, but I just didn't really know how to explain them. Here I am... a fresh college graduate... unable to explain basic English principles to someone else!

All I gotta say is that I am darn sure glad that I was born speakin' Texan... cuz there ain't no way I'd be able to explain it to no one else.

So... next time you get frustrated with someone that looks at you funny in the checkout line because whatever is coming out of your mouth isn't quite registering upstairs... be patient. Most of the time, we aren't even saying it right to begin with.

Back to Civilization!!

Right now, I'm smiling as big as this guy!

I finally have the internet again!! Today is my birthday, and I couldn't ask for a better present (pretty sad huh?... I'm such an addict!).

For the last 2 weeks, I have been out in a small village, living with an older missionary couple. It was a really amazing time of learning about the culture and people of Malawi, because both of these people have been living in Malawi for all of their lives (60+ years). So, they definitely know the ropes.

I also was able to get away from the busyness of city life and focus in on some simpler things. When all your comforts get taken away from you (i.e. communication with other people), you really begin to see things within yourself. I got to spend a lot of time reading books about the Malawian culture and about the traditional religions of the Chewa people, and it has absolutely blown me away. It's almost too much to comprehend. However, it's really nice to get a grasp on some of these things finally.

Another reason for being in Salima (the village I was at) was to focus intensely on learning the language. I am getting much better at understanding people and actually saying a few things myself. This was becoming a huge frustration for me, so I am really determined to learn as much as I can.

And, while I was there, I was able to check out an orphan ministry that was really an amazing program. It really challenged me and was refreshing to see something that is really working well.

A few of the not so spiritual highlights of the trip were...

Eating goat intestines for the first time! It was right after sitting through nothing less than 5 hours worth of church on Sunday morning in the village. I'm all up for long church services and all... but this one was 100% in another language. And... the night before, I slept on the bed of a truck, under the stars with 2 Malawians that constantly were rolling over on top of me. So... I was just kind of ready to get back to the place where I was staying, take a shower and drink a Fanta.

Then... right after the service, the Abusa (pastor) came up to me and informed me that I would be eating in a "special house" over there with some of the other "important people". I knew exactly what that meant! The insides of the animals (goats, chickens, ect.) are considered a great delicacy around here, and they are only reserved for the honored guests. I was praying that they would not like me that much... but, turns out my skin color gave me away!

So... as we were blessing the food, this is honestly what I did. I just bowed my head and started laughing to myself. I said, "God... you are gonna have to make this taste like a nice filet mignon, some roasted potatoes, and some juicy veggies." And to my surprise, everything tasted quite edible. So... if you're ever offered some goat entrails in the future, go ahead and try some!

The other high point was being able to go to the lake for a Saturday morning. It was quite nice! I wish that a plane ticket wasn't so expensive, because I would definitely like to vacation there more often. It's just like being in the Caribbean except there is no salt! WONDERFUL!

Well... now I am in Lilongwe (the capital of Malawi). I will be here for the next few weeks, working with an AIDS clinic called Partners In Hope. I am really excited about all the things that I will be learning while I am here. I will be staying with a family from New Zealand (the Youngs... you can see their picture by scrolling down a ways)... so, I'm sure my accent will be quite tainted by the time I'm done here. New Zealanders have a crazy wild accent!

There is so much more that I want to write about... but this is a little thrown together in a rush. I will try to get my thoughts together and post some more in the near future.

For now, enjoy some of the pictures that I have taken in the last 2 weeks...