finally made it home after 2 days of traveling. i think about the last month daily and try to digest all the experiences that i had.
language: the intricacies of language. in zulu, just by changing the accent of a word, you can change the intended meaning. i have become so used to the american way of expressing your needs/desires that i forgot that in some cultures, when you say no, you actually mean yes. so just to make things really clear, i always ask no no (as a definite no) or a no yes. another interesting tid-bid is numbers, in zulu, you have one through seven and ten, eight and nine are counted as ten minus one or ten minus two. also in regards to numbers, the literal translation of six is thumb and seven is the finger that you use to point. counting in zulu is so burdensome that you will almost always hear people counting in english.
been reading a lot about south africa, trying to get a glimpse about its history and its culture. its important to remember that south africa is not a heterogeneous country, there are so many different ethnic groups and languages. i came across the concept of "ubuntu" when i was watching a documentary about the impact the hiv/aids epidemic on children in south africa, highlighted by the fact that children play "funeral." the title of the documentary was "a child is a child (because of other people.)" the documentary was referring to the concept of ubuntu which roughly translates as¨a person is a person through other persons, you cant be human in isolation, you are human only in relationships.
language: the intricacies of language. in zulu, just by changing the accent of a word, you can change the intended meaning. i have become so used to the american way of expressing your needs/desires that i forgot that in some cultures, when you say no, you actually mean yes. so just to make things really clear, i always ask no no (as a definite no) or a no yes. another interesting tid-bid is numbers, in zulu, you have one through seven and ten, eight and nine are counted as ten minus one or ten minus two. also in regards to numbers, the literal translation of six is thumb and seven is the finger that you use to point. counting in zulu is so burdensome that you will almost always hear people counting in english.
been reading a lot about south africa, trying to get a glimpse about its history and its culture. its important to remember that south africa is not a heterogeneous country, there are so many different ethnic groups and languages. i came across the concept of "ubuntu" when i was watching a documentary about the impact the hiv/aids epidemic on children in south africa, highlighted by the fact that children play "funeral." the title of the documentary was "a child is a child (because of other people.)" the documentary was referring to the concept of ubuntu which roughly translates as¨a person is a person through other persons, you cant be human in isolation, you are human only in relationships.
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