Cultural Differences

Dirt: No matter how hard you scrub, no matter how thorough you think you are, your feet will never be clean again.

Mud: It sucks. My pants are permanently rolled up to my calves. My legs are usually spattered in wet dirt. Rainy season go away!

African time: It's slow and untimely. It's relaxing at times, but frustrating at others. You can be 45 minutes late for something and people won't bat an eye.

Handshake: They have the coolest handshake. It has three parts: 1)You greet someone and grab their hand, as if to shake it the American way, although you don't move the hands up and down, you keep them still; 2) both parties move their hands up the hands to semi-clasp thumbs; 3) both parties fluidly move their hands back into the original position for a final clasp. They do it as if it's no big deal and it's really awesome. You feel very smooth and gangsta when you do it.

Talk: Ugandans talk in African time. They also have a policy to never, EVER be direct. Questions are not to be answered, they are to be naviagted. Random stories must be told, illogical leaps taken, phrases must be repeated. Answers must also include an interjected "what" in the middle of your sentence. For example: "You add the tea leaves, you spoon sugar, and then you - what? - you mix." Or: "You step on the egg and tell the truth. Then you have done - what?" Pause for response. Me: ". . . a traditional ceremony ?" Them (without reacting to my answer) "reintegrated into society." Then you mentally scream because how in the hell were you suppose to guess that exact combination of words? You are not a mind reader! Why couldn't they have just finished their damn sentence.

African English: "English started in Britain, went to Asia and got sick, got even sicker in America, and died in Africa."

Sorry: When you trip or hurt yourself, they say "Sorry, sorry."

Not so much: It means "I don't know," not "No." As in "Has your NGO fed any other rebel groups?" Response: "Not so much."

Already: It means nothing. Example: "We are already in Kitgum." The 3 hour ride to Kitgum was long and arduous and this is how our arrival is announced. He means: "We are in Kitgum." The phrase brings much-needed, unintended humor to an aggravating arrival.

Satisfied: They ask if you are satisfied all the time to make sure you've had enough to eat or aren't too cold or don't want more water for a shower.

Somehow: They say this a lot when they mean somewhat. As in, "Do you speak Acholi?" "Somehow."

Thick-headed: Women who oppose the brideprice because they think they are being sold are called "thick-headed." It has no direct translation in American English, but many connotations, including stubborn, foolish, unlikeable, unattractive, stupid, untraditional, and dense.

Fed up?: Are you full?

Are you with me? Are we together?: Our lecturers say this all the time, the exact same phrase, the exact same way.

Take: instead of "eat." As in "Did you take enough?"

Eat, eat!: They command you to do things when they really mean, "Please, eat." They don't mean it to sound aggressive, but it does.

Yes: They give abrupt answers to questions that actually require explanations. For example: "Did you buy anything in town today?" Response: "Yes." Then they trun their back and start a new activity without telling you what they bought.

Smart: Sharp. Example: "You look smart today." Translation: "You are dressed sharply today - you look very nice."

You're welcome: They only have the concept of "you're welcome" as in "You are welcome to my home or my shop or to Gulu." When they say "thank you" and I respond with "You're welcome," they look at you like you're crazy and say thank you.

Pedatoi (spelling most definitely wrong): "Not so much." Understanding this Acholi phrase took me awhile. This is their response to "Affoyo," which means thank you in Acholi. When I asked for translation, incorrectly thinking it meant "You're welcome," they told me it meant "Not so much." When I asked what that meant in the context of the thanking situation, they couldn't clarify for me. I asked three different people who all translated it as "not so much" before I got more of an explanation. It does not mean "No big deal" or "Don't worry about it" as I originally suspected. It means, very loosely interpreted, "Thank you for thanking me, but it is not as big a deal as you are making it, though your thanks was necessary and appreciated." They are kind of giving a level of meaning to "thank you" and saying that thanks should be given, but not at the high level you are giving it.

Mingle - mix. As in "Mingle the rice." When I was first told to mingle, I thoguht it meant I had been talkign with my brother too long and should talk with the other 2 people in the room. I kind of felt offended and chastised, but fortunately I asked for clarification instead of following my instincts and going to sit on the ground with my grandmamma, who speaks 3 words of English.

Greetings: The Acholi have tons of greetings. Tons. We spent our first 2 Acholi lessons (out of 6) learning just the greetings. And it's really confusing because you don't just say one greeting and go on your way. You say at least 2 or three, which require particular responses. But you can't just mix and match the greetings at random - there is a method. Which I have yet to master. I still get laughed about half the times I greet someone in Acholi because I say the wrong response or accidently say "good night" in the place I was suppose to say "how did you sleep?" But it's kind of nice that they spend so much time greeting each other. I have never realized how limiting "hello" is to forming and cementing relationships until I've seen how the Acholi (and many other African cultures) spend on seeing how the other person is. We say "hi," the other person says "hi," and you part. Here you say "Copango," they say "copey," you say icimabe," they say "eyo," you say "affoyo," they say "affoyo." Then you shake hands and can then ask how the other person is, etc.

Affoyo: It is the slang, more commonly used term for "thank you" It also means hello, goodbye, let's fill greeting time in a polite way, let's say it for everything and anything even if it doesn't completely make sense, etc

So here are my thoughts and observations so far. Hope you enjoyed them! And gave you a small taste of the aggravations and pleasures I get on a daily basis.

-Nancy