Diana reminded me today of an unfortunate miscommunication problem I had awhile back...
I had to pee. I proceeded to the bathroom. As I let loose, one Mindylove walks in unannounced (she's 4). I turn for cover. She freezes at the door just half smiling at me. I want her to leave so I search my mental Creole Dictionary- eureka!- I say "gade". She doesn't leave. I say "Gade!". She stands there befuddled. I yell out "Hello!?" for someone to rescue me. Silence. I turn and look over my shoulder at Mendylove with a stern face and say, "GADE! KOUNYE A!". Nothing. So, I finish, walk down stairs and see Diana in the kitchen. I say, "Mindylove doesn't listen to anything?!" Peeking her curiosity, I explain the whole situation. I told Diana how I repeatedly said "leave" and she blankly stared at me. I even confidently explained to Diana what I said in Creole to Mindylove in my retelling. Then, revelation. "Gade" does NOT mean "leave"... It means "look". Which means I said, “look. Look! LOOK! NOW!” So that was kinda funny/ubber creepy.
Speaking of Creole, there are constant reminders of my desire to speak it fully. Last night I had a discussion with one of our closer Haitian friends. It was dark and the generator had not been turned on yet. The stars burned bright. So, out of nowhere I had this convo:
Me: Did you know that the sun is a star.
Woslin: (curiously) No…
Me: Did you know that the sun is WAYYYYY bigger than the earth?
Woslin: (shocked) No! Is the moon bigger than the sun?
Me: (shocked) no….
And that’s where that conversation ended. I cannot explain in Creole that the moon is closer and it appears bigger. I cannot explain that the world is far bigger than they ever could imagine. They have never seen a map and if they have they have no idea what it means. Many have not even been to the ocean like 3 miles away. It’s still shocking…
I had to pee. I proceeded to the bathroom. As I let loose, one Mindylove walks in unannounced (she's 4). I turn for cover. She freezes at the door just half smiling at me. I want her to leave so I search my mental Creole Dictionary- eureka!- I say "gade". She doesn't leave. I say "Gade!". She stands there befuddled. I yell out "Hello!?" for someone to rescue me. Silence. I turn and look over my shoulder at Mendylove with a stern face and say, "GADE! KOUNYE A!". Nothing. So, I finish, walk down stairs and see Diana in the kitchen. I say, "Mindylove doesn't listen to anything?!" Peeking her curiosity, I explain the whole situation. I told Diana how I repeatedly said "leave" and she blankly stared at me. I even confidently explained to Diana what I said in Creole to Mindylove in my retelling. Then, revelation. "Gade" does NOT mean "leave"... It means "look". Which means I said, “look. Look! LOOK! NOW!” So that was kinda funny/ubber creepy.
Speaking of Creole, there are constant reminders of my desire to speak it fully. Last night I had a discussion with one of our closer Haitian friends. It was dark and the generator had not been turned on yet. The stars burned bright. So, out of nowhere I had this convo:
Me: Did you know that the sun is a star.
Woslin: (curiously) No…
Me: Did you know that the sun is WAYYYYY bigger than the earth?
Woslin: (shocked) No! Is the moon bigger than the sun?
Me: (shocked) no….
And that’s where that conversation ended. I cannot explain in Creole that the moon is closer and it appears bigger. I cannot explain that the world is far bigger than they ever could imagine. They have never seen a map and if they have they have no idea what it means. Many have not even been to the ocean like 3 miles away. It’s still shocking…
RSS Feed