Language #2

Oh how I wish I grew up hearing more than one language. I knew language learning would be difficult but I didn’t know in what ways. My Hausa language learning was for a month with a local principle, and therefore he knew how to teach. Fulfulde study is a bit different and a little more vexing. My teacher is a medical worker and is not used to explaining grammar or things like sentence structure. Regardless of the frustration, the days come and go where I must speak to survive.



Starting in two weeks, I will be thrown into the bush during the weekends. I hope that this will challenge me and motivate me to learn the language as efficiently and quickly as possible. Once I have a solid foundation of the language I can begin memorizing “stories” in Fulfulde and start ministry. M & R worked in my bush village for a month when they first arrived on the field 5 years ago. However, the people kept expecting something of monetary value from them, so they finally decided to transfer their ministry elsewhere. Please lift up that the Father has softened hearts over the years and that He will dissatisfy the current condition of their hearts.


The picture below is of the chief of the village in which I will be living during language study and my new house. I hope that even with my limited language skills right now, that I can form strong bonds with the women in “B”. I look forward to sharing wonderful testimonies of my time with the Sokoto Fulani in the bush. Let this new phase of the journey begin!

With the chief and his wife in front of my new house!

Village "B"

My language helpers

Daily pounding of millet



What a Wonderful Dialogue

Loosely translated dialogue of one of my most recent bush outings with M (Weyti).



Random Fulani Man (RFM): Weyti, you should give her (referring to me) to be my wife.
M: You already have one wife don’t you?
RFM: Yes, she will be my second wife.
M: She doesn’t want to be a second wife. She wants to be the only wife.
RFM: Ok, give her to me.
M: Do you have 300 cattle?
RFM: No.
M: Well she is worth 300 cattle.
RFM: She is worth too much.
M: She has an education, a house, she knows English and a little bit of Hausa. She is worth 300 cattle.
RFM: Yes, but she doesn’t know Fulfulde.
M: Ahh, she starts Fulfulde study on Monday so then she will be worth 500 cattle. Do you have 500 cattle?
RFM: No.
M: Then her father will refuse the marriage.


Dear Dad, if you were ever wondering how much your precious daughters are worth, I found out….500 cattle.

Etsy

Many of you have probably realized by now that the country that I currently live in is very special. We have termed it, “The Middle of Nowhere (insert country name here)”. Therefore when Christmas time came up I had a hard time figuring out what to get people. Other than not being able to buy anything here, I had only known the field personnel for only 2 months. I was looking through my art book one night under the section that I have labeled “etsy” to find some ideas. I have always wanted an etsy account to sell my handmade items whether it be household items, textile wall art, or hand printed cards. Therefore I decided to dabble into my dreams during Christmas time. The following pictures are of placemats I made for M & R, hand dyed head wraps for the yarinya’s and trivets that I made for J. Enjoy and you should all check out etsy.com for the most creative handcrafted items.



By the way, this blog post was specifically for you Rachel Miller Gallo! Love you and thanks for your continual encouragement and support of my crazy ideas!

Placemats

Trivets anyone?!?!

Bleach Dyeing

Let's Catch Up!

In a nut shell these are the highlights of the past month…

o I made my first friend in the town that I live in and she happens to crochet and knit.
o I found the yarn store and have checked out most of the fabric shops along the main road.
o I had a wonderful Christmas Eve and Christmas day filled with hot chocolate (thanks sis!), watching the Alfred Hitchcock thriller The Lady Vanishes, Just Dance 3 on Wii thanks to M &R, presents from field personnel and my wonderful family on the Weaver side (thanks Lucy, Susanne, and Becky!), 3 new outfits to get tailored, and a full crate of Fanta! It is so true, Life is Good!
o I thought eating sardines in the Philippines for breakfast was bad. Worse than that is eating incredibly large grasshoppers for snack. The taste wasn’t too bad because they add oil, onion, and yaji (pepper and ginger spice) but the crunchiness isn’t that satisfying. Unfortunately I had gum in my mouth during this time and didn’t have anywhere to put it. The worst was chewing my gum after I had finished the grasshopper and realizing that there were a few legs stuck in my gum. Needless to say I took my gum out as soon as appropriate.
o Apparently some man in the market asked M & R if he could buy me as a wife from them. He was 55. I just think it ironic that I never even got asked on a date in college and all I had to do was fly across the ocean to get proposed to!
o I have officially begun Fulfulde language study. Apparently Fulfulde is the third most difficult language to learn so you can ask me how excited I am in about 5 months.
o Out of all the teeny tiny African babies I have held here, this week I held the first one who relieved herself on me. Of course while she was doing this, she was looking right at me and smiling. You can’t be upset, the kids are too adorable!
o Just for Fun: My favorite musical & dance number… http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tciT9bmCMq8. Just had to share this because it makes me happy. I know it will make my friend Melanie Mahoney happy as well because it has Mr. Gene Kelley and his “attributes” of steel.