Wednesday Funnies

Today started off as a not so good day. For no reason really, I just think it’s that time before that time of the month when girls get all depressed and stuff. However, as the hours went by, these things made my day turn around and a little brighter.

Scenario 1 – At one of my schools:

Lunch Lady: “Bonolo (that’s my Setswana name), come here.”
Me: “Yes?”
Lunch Lady: “Are you wearing a wig?”
Me: “Lol. What makes you say that?”
Lunch Lady (while pointing at a teacher): “You look like her.”
Me: “Is she wearing a wig?”
Lunch Lady: “Yes.”

Hmm.. I don’t really know about this one. I’ll let you be the judge.

Scenario 2 – Escuela de fellow PCV

Not quite a scenario but it’s a picture of a handout a fellow PCV's learner turned in for his economic management class. He spelled his name correctly, but answered all of the questions solely comprised of Ls, As, and Hs.

Scenario 3 – Hitchhiking with the popo

A police officer picked me up today and here was part of our convo:

Me: “Dumela.”
Popo: “Agee.”
Me: “Thanks for picking me up.”
Popo: “No, sharp sharp. (That means “It’s all good.”) Where are you from?”
Me: “Texas, in the United States.”
Popo: “When did you get here?”
Me: “Almost 7 months ago.”
Popo: “Yes, I can tell. Your English is struggling.”

I know I’ve already put something like this up, but I was surprised that I couldn’t speak past “Hello” in Setswana and he said my English was struggling. LOL My theory is that they see the China eyes and hair, completely disregard anything I say, and just hear a bunch of “Wa wa wa”s streaming out of my mouth. Or, my English is just really bad.

I thought my being from the states would suggest a thing or two about my medium of communication. Then again, a fellow PCV once visited and we were talking at one of my schools when we were interrupted by wild stares and a, “Why are you speaking English?” We apologized and told her how bad our Setswana was, and she said, “No, not Setswana. Why aren’t you speaking in your language?” Confused, we asked her what our language was. “American.”

It’s good to know that something as simple as a 30-second conversation can offset my hormonal imbalance back to normal or at the very least offer some temporary placation. Who needs prescription drugs and anger management when you can have a chat?