Our first conversation in Wolof (translated)
A: Peace with you
B: Peace to you too
A: How are you making it?
B: I’m still here
A: Is your body in peace?
B: Only peace
A: Do you come from the people of America?
B: No, I’m from Holland.
A: How do the people in Holland make it?
B: They’re over there.
A: Well, I’m leaving.
B: Okay, until the next road
A: Until the next
Now we have started learning the local language, the world of Senegalese culture opens up to us more and more. Peace (jāmm) is really a keyword, you can answer “only peace” to a lot of questions. It is important though, that the ‘a’ not too long, because ‘Jaam’ means slave! I hope I pronounced it correctly when I told the taxi driver to go to church “Këru Jāmm” (house of peace). It would be a shame if the place where we celebrate our freedom is associated with slavery!
Twice a week, our highly experienced teacher Ibu comes over to teach us. We practice conversations, and he explains the grammar. Then it is up to us to put the lessons into practice. Tabitha did very well in practicing the greetings: on her way to the post office she just continued to ask for directions!
Sounds like you guys are doing great!