Communication Chaos!

As I have mentioned before, communication with the African people here can prove to be quite a challenge. Although at times it's very frustrating, for some reason this week I've been able to find the humor in the out-of-control conversations...maybe because I wasn't directly involved in these situations! :) Here's a few stories that will help you understand a little bit of what it's like...

1. Papa Jim has a friend who's beginning to sell health care products, so he's come around trying to sell some of these to us. He decided to buy some type of aloe product as a supplement to relieve stomach problems. The man who sold him the product told him there would be no side effects with this product, but the next day he called back to see if he's had any side effects.

Papa Jim reminded him that he just told him yesterday that there would be no side effects and decided to play with him a little bit and jokingly said, "Well, I just fell on the ground and starting experiencing tingling in my left arm and chest pains (signs of a heart attack); is that normal?"

The man replied, "Yes. Yes. That's normal."

So Papa Jim continues, "Ok. So even though I fell on the floor and lost consciousness, that's okay?"

"Yes. Yes. That's okay," he said.

As I stood there laughing, Papa Jim repeated the question about losing consciousness and the man replied, "Yes. You can even take more."

Yikes!

2. Mama Carolyn and I saw Daniel, the driver, head toward the gate in the van, and we wanted him to pick up some bread for us while he was out. So, hoping to catch him before he left the compound, we called his phone...no answer. Next we quickly dialled the guard's phone, hoping that maybe he could catch him before he went out. The conversation went something like this:

Mama Carolyn: "Hi is Daniel there?"
Samuel (the guard): "Yes."
Mama Carolyn: "Could I talk to him please?"
Samuel: "Yes."
Mama Carolyn: "Hi. Is this Daniel?"
Samuel: "Yes."
Mama Carolyn: "I was just calling to see if you were going out."
Samuel: "Yes."
Mama Carolyn: "Dana and I were wondering if you could pick up some bread for us?"
Samuel: you guessed it..."Yes."
Mama Carolyn: "This isn't Daniel, the driver, is it?"
Samuel: "Yes."
Mama Carolyn: "This is Samuel, isn't it?"
Samuel: "Yes."
Mama Carolyn: "Has Daniel already left?"
Samuel: "Yes."

As you could probably conclude...no bread for us! :)

3. Mama Carolyn called Mr. Yeboa, a man who is a carpenter and made some desks for the school, to see where his shop is located since it recently moved locations. Here's how it went?

Mama Carolyn: "Hi Mr. Yeboa...I was wondering if you could tell me where your shop is because Papa Jim wanted to come pick up the desks."
Mr. Yeboa: "Yes."
Mama Carolyn: "Okay. Where can we find your shop?"
Mr. Yeboa: "Okay, okay, okay!" Click...

Challenging may be an understatement in terms of communication...thus the title...Communication CHAOS!!! Like I said, I've found it's best just to laugh it off...sometimes easier said than done though.