Africa…Meeting with our Translators

Our second day in KanKan started out slow, so everyone could rest up a bit.  I actually slept in a bit.  I had taken my first “bucket” shower the night before and realized just how cold well water is!  We were going to meet with our translators today and head into the market.  P had been having a difficult time contacting them due to cell phone issues. You would not beleive the number of cell phone adverstisements in the city.  No running water, but we have our mobile!  You can imagine that the system can go down at times, which is why they had not spoken in a few days.

Scott, our team leader, had gone with P to go look for Morey, his contact, and to look at the bridge we would need to cross to get to the villages. It was being worked on and they needed to figure out when or if we could get across.  They found Morey and were able to set up a time for later in the day to meet up.   Morey had also scheduled two other translators, Penda and MC to be with us during the week. Both have translated with us before, so they are familiar with the Creation to Christ stories we share and an understanding of what we will be doing in the villages.

They came and of course I make my first cultural faux paus right off the bat.  Women do not initiate handshakes to men, in the Maninka culture.  You wait to see if it is offered to you.  So, without hesitating, I stick my hand out to shake MC’s hand, as we are introduced.   I immediately recognized what I did, but the moment got away from me. Fortuanately, our translators offer us a great deal of grace in these situation.  We spent some time together, letting them hear our accents, which I am sure is SO EASY TO UNDERSTAND!  We agreed that they would come back later, with Penda, to go over our Creation to Christ and go into the market to practice our Maninka language and buy some items.

I was very intimitdated at this point.  I think for many reasons, now that I have had some time to process it some.  For starters, I have never spoken, using a translator.  I mean, it isn’t like this is a normal, everyday occurence in the US.   I wasn’t familiar with how in detail to go or how to change up my sentences.  I really thought through what I was saying, and even then, it didn’t always translate.  I worked with Penda and she did a great job, but it is a process!  She speaks four languages and did a great job.  I plan on sharing more about Penda because her story is one that needs to be told.   Another reason I was intimidated was because I was so afraid of making a mistake culturally  and offending someone.  I was very aware that we are visitors to their culture and I wanted to honor and respect thier tradition.  Thirdly, I have rarely been in places where I had no clue what was being said around me.  Or, in places where I stand out.  But, let’s be honest. I am a white girl and I was in Africa.  There was no getting around the fact that I wasn’t from these parts!  Lastly, I was scared to share my faith.  There I said it.  I was panicky at times to get the words out.  Why?  Because I am not in the habit of meeting someone, translating our conversation and within 2 minutes telling them about Christ.  Is that bad or wrong?  Maybe.  I just know that I have used the winning the right to be heard philosophy to the point that sharing on the spot makes me sweat.  This isn’t something I am proud of, instead it is something that I am continuing to work through with the Holy Spirit.  Did I share? Yes.  Was it very hard for me? Yes  Did fear stop me? Thankfully, no.

So, back to our day.

Later that afternoon, Penda, Morey and MC came back and we ventured out into the market to buy some supplies. Our list was mangos, pineapples and machetes.  Funny combo, but that is what we were out to locate.  We walked around with Penda and it was wild.  There are people everywhere, selling whatever they can.  We saw all manner of fruit, vegetables, and fish.  We saw women making peanut butter with their hands, stringing it back and forth. We saw clothes booths, and even Obama flip flops.  On a side note, they are so proud of Obama.  They take great delight that a man, who’s father is African is the President.  That was cool.   We saw babies crawling in the dirt amongst chickens, mess and grime with motos flying by.  We saw women carrying items on their head.  We saw row after row of people.  Penda took us around and we followed like little puppies. We had to alternate fruit, but we did get a great deal on the machetes.  She did most of the talking.  We tried the language some, and I proved to be a SLOW learner.  I just smiled a lot.  Usually, they would start laughing when I spoke.  No kidding!  I can only imagine how this Mississippi/East Tennessee accent sounds to them! In the marker, it is a custom or a process of asking how much, countering and then settling on a price. She walked off once because she felt we were asked to pay too much because we were American.  My thinking was, I will pay it.  If it helps them out, I am okay with paying more!

After the market, we went back and had dinner.  Donna had been cooking for a long time, figuring out an oven that had no temp control.  It was very humbling, I will admit.  It is not easy to prepare food in Africa, especially American food.  But, she did a great job.  All week she served us and I admire her so much.

We debriefed and went to bed.  It was a good day.

This is a little cutey and her mom in the market.

Here are two boys wanting to get their picture made. Precious!

Check out the load she is carrying. Women start as little girls learning how to master this skill.

A line of motos

Another view of the market

Two boys who were shining shoes, trying to make some money. They came and sat by us as we were waiting for our ride.

Penda, our translator, lovingly referred to as "our African Diva." Beautiful and dressed to the nines each day! I was so frumpy next to her!

It's Everywhere! Praise the Lord!