Fulfulde for beginners
on Camarooned Clara (Cameroon), 17/Sep/2009 19:29, 34 days ago
Djabbama! gotta share with you my knowledge after some local language classes.-djam na! (hey, what's up)-djam (i am fine.)-djam bandu? (how is your body)-djam (it is fine.)-djam sare? (how is your wife/house)-djam (she/it is fine.)yes– the word for wife and house is ACTUALLY the same! pretty much tells you all you'll ever need to know about a woman's place in cameroon. well, that and the fact that the word 'woman' comes from the verb meaning to follow/obey.!!!Such a wayward wife I'd make.So today is Thursday, and i have only just got to meet my boss! Last week of ramadan so not much work happening at all, streets are busy with peeps stocking up for feasts on Sunday (or Monday, depending on the moon.)Boss seems nice, though very busy and important. Am hoping she will assign me to the care of someone junior who i can shoot my inane questions at all day long. In line with the above, first question to me: 'are you married'? On hearing the negative, second question: ' do you have children'? At which point i busily started mentally calculating whether it's more offensive to have children out of wedlock or not to have children at all. Pretty sure both single me out as a social outcast anyway!In other news, it continues to be scorchingly hot everyday and night. Though obviously that's not news what with this being the 'cool' season and all. 'ca fait frais aujourd'hui, non?' is a favourite conversation opener. Fresh? Dude, it's 36 degrees! i'll show YOU fresh! (is what i dream of saying if i thought the french would in anyway translate satisfactorily.)a la prochaine donc!clara