Language continues to be a bitter-sweet experience! Today in language class, I was to translate a sentence into Mongolian. It was written out for me in English, and I was to speak it in Mongolian. I looked at the sentence, and for the life of me I couldn't remember the Mongolian word for "read". I looked at the paper, hoping it would click, then I looked at Kevin and said, "Have we learned the word for 'read'?" Micah looked at me and said, "You're joking, right, Mom?" I think he was really thinking, "Why do I have to have such a loser for a mother?", but he was kind enough to NOT say that. We actually learned the word for "read" many weeks ago.
No, I wasn't joking. I was drawing a blank. For some reason, the incidence struck me as funny and also frustrating, and I started laughing. I just kept laughing and couldn't think straight. Then, tears started streaming down my cheeks. I was laughing AND crying. Our teacher assured us we would be learning the Mongolian word for "crying" later in the morning.
Now, unless you think that I was disrupting a huge class, no worries. Our class consists of Kevin, Micah, Susan (the other teacher who came over with us on March 1 from Maryland), and myself--and of course one of the teachers (we have two--one teaches the first half of class; the other teaches the second half).
I think I just "hit a wall" and "lost it" all at once right there. It's beyond my brain at times to make sentences with the words I've learned. The word order is much different than English.
But, let me share a victory, lest you think I really AM a loser! Kevin and I recently went to a coffee shop while we were out walking somewhere. They had just pulled some wonderful looking pastry-covered round balls off the cooling tray and put them on plates to display. I asked, "Athlam?" which is the word for apple--I was guessing and wanted confirmation that an apple was wrapped in that ball of goodness. The cashier nodded her head, "Teem" (yes!). I ordered, "nick" (one) after asking "In hit vey?" (how much price?) and hearing, "myunk" (1000T--which translates to less than a dollar). So, I may not be able to make a full sentence, but I can talk in sporadic one-word questions! And, I ended up getting what I thought I was getting for a good price. Kevin and I sat down to enjoy the pastry-covered baked apple together and had a fun talk.
Time for me to go do my "gedding dolthlor" (homework) so I don't end up "oolthahch been" (crying).
6 comments:
I know toooo well how your laughter can sometimes turn into tears.... Even as a child a special gift would bring a smile to your face followed by tears of joy flowing so freely....
We'll continue to pray for the language to 'soak in'! Such a big challenge for you! But, it sounds like you are learning to communicate... and in one instance, a delicious apple dumpling was your reward!
Love,
Mom
Well, this time the tears weren't so much out of joy as frustration, embarrassment, confusion, and a bunch of other emotions tangled all together...along with hilarity.
Keep posting Pam! You are a talented writer. And even more important saying/typing things out loud always helps our hearts. Especially with frustration. It does seem though that your frustration is always blessed with a great antedote =)
Tami: Thanks for cheering me on! Yes, writing can be very therapeutic.
Your story/antedotes are what I look for every time. I pray for your personal difficult times in such a strange place. But so love your stories of connecting with the 'locals'. And every minute is about God, but you also need some 'take a moment' for me time and transitioning. You do not have to be perfect, just you =)
Keep giving us words in Mongolian - how FUN to learn even a few from your blog! I enjoyed your baked apple story. I thought of you guys the other night, driving home from AWANA (well - I think of you often, driving your old car...), because there is this big billboard on Hwy 14 East just before you get to town -- for HuHot, the MONGOLIAN grill (apache mall). And I started thinking - what makes it a Mongolian grill? If I find out - I will let you know! Well, thinking of you, praying for you - hoping you're enjoying the 'warm' 30-degree days! ---Dave Schmitter
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