An Early Easter

Here’s an example of the kind of unexpected frustrations and aggravations – and good memories – that crop up all the time in Itipini because of the language barrier.

After we cleaned up the clinic on Friday afternoon, I went into the kitchen to wish our kitchen staff a good weekend. This is usually a simple matter of a few short phrases thanking them for their work and concluding by saying, “sobanana ngomvulo” – “see you Monday.” But this time that last phrase set off a commotion. Of course, I couldn’t understand a word of it as the six or so women in the kitchen probably speak a dozen words of English among them. But I gathered after a bit that they thought Monday was a holiday and I should have said “sobanana ngwolesibini” – “see you Tuesday.” This was a bit of a problem – the women were clearly looking forward to a day off but we need them around to distribute and cook food on Monday.

A typically stilted and disjointed conversation ensued, involving as it always does two- or three-word phrases and lots of hand motions on my behalf and a steady steam of incomprehensible mush from the women. (I thought understanding one Xhosa speaker was tough but I learned on Friday that six women, all speaking simultaneously, and all animated by the belief that they were being robbed of a holiday is much, much harder.) The conversation certainly stretched the limits of my mainly medical vocabulary but I think I got my message through that the Easter holiday isn’t until the following Monday.

But I guess I’ll find out for sure on Monday.