So one of those snippy things Minnesotans do when you have been too rude to thank someone is to say “your welcome”. This in turn demands a response to the effect of
“why I am just like a chicken with my head cut off, too busy to thank all you people for the hard work, please excuse me. Thank you so much, really thank you.”
“no thank you necessary, please just go ahead.”
“no I really mean it thanks, I really like what you have done and this makes my life just so much better, I have just been so distracted lately. Who am I of all people to not thank, I am such a fool.”
So why am I detailing this truly Minnesotan dialogue while I am suppose to be telling stories of Uganda? Because, “your welcome” means something completely different, yet is much truer to the words themselves. People here often say “your welcome”, meaning I welcome you here. I find that I have to control my internal response in my head, which sounds much like Garrison Keillor, have I not properly thanked this. Then I remind myself that I am in Uganda and different codes exist. It is funny to find two comments which are exactly the same, but mean quite different things. Although, much of Minnesotan is spoken with a hidden meaning.
They say the same thing in Ghana. Took me a few days to realize they were actually welcoming me to the country!
ReplyDeleteI am glad u are blogging. You are welcome to blog as much as you like. perhaps improvise a song about your travels....
ReplyDeleteI love that you write in small, yummy tidbits that give people food for thought. To munch on. To ponder. To savour like a good little mini egg. 'You're welcome' reminds me of when I hung out with a bunch of Italian girls and they kept saying "ciao!" every time they saw me walk in, I was so confused at first because well, ciao is "adios!" in Spanish...took me awhile to get used to it that's for sure. Keep your posts coming, love 'em!
ReplyDeleteAnd do they say 'That's different' when they mean, 'that's weird. I don't think I like that'?
ReplyDelete