Wednesday, June 4, 2008

What does it mean when they say.....


Well - here we are in June. In Arizona, I would be resigning myself to 4 long hot months. Here in Daboya, this is when the rains come and cool things off .... relatively speaking. It never actually gets "cool" here but it is a LOT cooler than March and April!

I met a most interesting woman in Tamale. Her name is Madame Hajara and she owns a hair salon. Her husband died when her 3 children were young and it made her very aware of how difficult it can be for children with just one parent, not to mention orphans. She decided there was something she could do and began taking in orphaned girls to train them how to be hair dressers so they would always be able to care for themselves. She has 13 apprentices right now and there are hair dressers all over Ghana who have been trained by Madame Hajara. You can see the joy in her face when she opens her photo albums and shows you pictures of "her girls". Anywhere you go in the world, you can meet wonderful people and it's fun to share their stories.

A few terms you should know if you visit Ghana:

What They Say//What It Means

It's just there.//It's anywhere from 100 feet to 100 miles in that direction

I'll come after 3:00 prayers //I'll come sometime between 4:00 today and 4:00 next Tuesday

The bus leaves at 4:00// The bus leaves sometime between 4:30 and 8

He took her books.//He took her books. OR He took his books. ORShe took her books. OR She took his books. There is no pronoun gender differentiation.

I'm coming (always said as they're going the other way//I'll be back....some time.

I will do that, by God's grace//I will do that........or I won't.

Yes, I understand //Yes, I understand....or I don't

Yes (When you have asked, "Would you like this or that?".)// They didn't understand the question

His fadda and my mudda had one fadda, one mudda.//I'll get back to you on this one if I ever figure it out!

There are lots more of these but it's late and I haven't had much sleep the past two days so I can't think of anymore. Maybe next month.

Have I mentioned how beautiful the night skies are here? Even if I have, it's worth mentioning again. Actually, they remind me of the night skies on the Navajo reservation in northern Arizona - far from the lights of the city. Sometimes I just put my mat outside and lay on my back and watch the stars. I recommend it for everyone.

Would like to say more but I'm tuckered and going to call it a night.

Love and Hugs to you all.

3 comments:

Dharma Kelleher said...

Glad things are cooling off. I know you're working hard there.

A few weeks ago here it was 110 degrees. Two days later it hit a high of only 78 degrees. Crazy!

Enjoy those night skies!

Peace out,
Dharma Kelleher
www.dharmashanti.com

P.S. Just finished the final draft of my new novel "A Sense of Community". I thought you'd like to know.

larryp said...

Hey Dharma! OK - So I'm a bit late in replying but better late...oops, I can't use anything trite when writing to a writer! Congrats on the new book. When do I get a copy? Somehow I don't think I'll find it in the Tamale book stores.....oh, wait....there ARE no Tamale book stores!

Love the butterfly. See you in about 16 months.

larryp said...

Hey Dharma! OK - So I'm a bit late in replying but better late...oops, I can't use anything trite when writing to a writer! Congrats on the new book. When do I get a copy? Somehow I don't think I'll find it in the Tamale book stores.....oh, wait....there ARE no Tamale book stores!

Love the butterfly. See you in about 16 months.