I get to travel a bit every year and forget that not every one uses the same words we do here.
Our English is peppered with words from other local languages. A flying insect is a gogo (pronounced with a gutteral g); a walking insect is a nunu and a centipede is a shongalolo. Eina means ouch.
But we also use terms that don’t make sense to others. Just now actually means not now. So if someone is meeting you just now. Find out exactly when or you could end up waiting a while.
Local boys have a hand shake that would make free masons envious. It’s a combo of twists and turns. I can’t remember them but certainly interesting to watch. The greeting process can become quite protracted and flamboyant.
One other thing. If you happen to be standing on the side of the road. And you happen to point up. A local taxi will break the land speed record and in a blur of shrieking tyres and cars almost crashing, swing open their doors, while moving, to give you a lift. That is how we summon a mini bus taxi here. And as said in previous posts, our local taxis are “one more busses”. Always room for one more.
