Is it? Oh she’s being cheeky. Thank makes me crossed. How’s
it? Nice. Keen. Nice.
If only you could hear how I sounded when saying these words
and phrases. Even better hear every single South African say them. When I first
arrived here in Cape Town I was a bit lost with what people were trying to say
to me. I started to look like a bobble head, just constantly shaking my head to
infer yes with a giddy smile on my face. Now picture me doing this 24/7, it was
definitely a scene. Could you imagine if I went to a country where English
isn’t even spoken frequently? It would have been a problem.
During the first month I was experiencing so many different
accents and so many different levels of ability to speak English that I began
to believe I was never going to be able to communicate on a strong level with
these people. It scared me. I came to this country to learn people’s stories
and this communication barrier was not going to allow me to do this.
But as the weeks went on my tendency to look like a bobble
head became less and less and communication between South Africans grew more
and more. I even caught myself the other day saying, ‘how’s it’ to a friend
back home. Respectfully so her response was ‘what’ with many question marks,
most likely what my response would have been just a month ago.
I enjoy noticing my change of mannerisms. But also find it
very interesting that in such a short exposure a person’s mannerism can change
so quickly. I am looking forward to noticing when my mannerisms will change
back when I arrive home.
Cheers.
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