I never quite got around to uploading this particular blog.
Please note that it was written last month...
I have been busy this week
practicing language with Joyce and her sweet girls…
The Didinga calendar claims
that we are smack dab in middle of rainy season, however our empty water barrel
tells of a different story.
Needing to bathe and wash our
dinner dishes, Abbi and I set off for the stream yesterday evening. We met our friend Eliza on the way, who
quickly grew annoyed with us upon reaching the stream when Abbi accidentally
stepped in and, then later, touched her jerry-can down in the upper portion of the
stream, inadvertently muddying the water two separate times, a major
Didinga no no.
After filling our jerry-cans
and lifting them onto our heads we all started the half-mile journey back up
the hill for home.
Halfway home, Abbi’s
precariously perched jerry-can toppled. Eliza
and I had our own loads balancing on our heads, which meant that we were unable
to assist Abbi with hers. Most Didinga
women can lift a full jerry-can (which weighs 44 pounds) onto their head
without assistance; however, Abbi and I are simply not strong enough to do it
on our own.
After insisting that a now
thoroughly exasperated Eliza leave us and our water hauling problems behind, we
slowly resumed our now exceedingly slow trudge up the hill. Abbi was now carrying
her load by hand - a task so hard and slow it is, in my opinion, not worth doing. Eventually we, quite literally, crossed paths
with a helpful youngster who lifted Abbi’s jerry-can back into place.
Moments after this lad had disappeared
down the trail, Abbi again lost her balance on the uneven trail. Falling this time completely into the mud she lost most almost all of her water.
Seeing Abbi lying there muddy
and wet, exhausted, but now with very little water to show for all of her toil,
I couldn’t help but laugh.
Hearing my uncontrolled
giggles, an elderly neighbor woman asked what was going on. Attempting to use one of my new Didinga
phrases I blurted out, “Uduti Abbi maam.” - “Abbi spilled her water.”
Hearing these words the old
woman nodded, muttered something under her breath and walked back into her mudhut.
Late last night, while I was
waiting for my bath water to heat, I reviewed my latest language phrases and with
a strong dose or horror and a healthy spoonful of amusement, I realized that I
hadn’t told that nosey old woman that Abbi spilled her water, but rather that
Abbi was drunk!!!
Now, don’t judge… the
phrases are so very similar.
Drunk – uduti (oo-dew-ti,
pronounced by drawing out the dew sound)
Spilled – uduti (oo-dew-ti,
pronounced with a shortened dew sound)
Cross cultural living,
you’ve just got to love it!
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