I've noticed that some of the local slang has already started creeping into Vince's speech especially when we are haggling and browsing at the markets. I saw this posting on Facebook on the Imara Kamba Simba page and grabbed it so I could get with the program. (Imara Kanba Simba is an Imara Group-sponsored road rally team which supports the PutFoot Foundation.)
I also really like the way our housekeeper Cecelia and many of the local ladies address me as Mommy or Mama. I assume it is similar to the way we use Ma'am or Madam and the French use Madame but I find it much more endearing.
And the Afrikaans also have their things. For instance, they like to end their sentences with "heh." Kind of like our "right?" or the French "n'est-ce pas?" Only not always with the inquisitive inflection. It is more like a period or a confirmation of what preceded it, almost implying that it is a fact.
But my favorite "thing" is the way they tell you a telephone or cell phone number. If there are consecutive same numbers they say "double" or "triple." For instance, 011 884 2225 is said "zero, double one, double eight, four, triple two, five." If you are not expecting that cadence (try it, it's weird!) you get all muddled, especially on the phone. I know I sounded like an idiot repeating my number to all the realtors when I first came here with my "zero. one. one. eight. eight. four. two. two. two. five." but I lacked confidence. Now I can double down with the best of them. Hoping I get a quadruple at least once!
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