Vanuatu

Self-improvement projects

So, since there is tonnes of free time here, I've decided to embark on a few self-improvement projects, the top priority going to reading books(religious and non-religious ) and not being an absolute disaster when it comes to domestic chores. I decided that sewing (which, I finally realized, is pronoucned as "sowing" and not "see-wing") is going to be included in my latter list. So I went to the local market where mamas, as married women are referred to in Vanuatu, usually sew and sell clothes to tourists.

**This conversation takes place in Bislama*
Me: Can you teach me how to sew?
Lady: *Laughs and gives me a high five*
(We talk about other thigns for a few minutes. All this while I'm trying to figure out a different way of asking the question, incase I didn't make sense the first time around or said something other than what was intended.)
Me: If me and a few other volunteers pay you, can you be my teacher? (I ask this with a bit of over-confidence, since I'm sure I've figured out the fool-proof way of saying the question in Bislama, without giving the wrong meaning.)
LadY: *laughs again and gives me a high five again*
Me: *Smiles, sighs and walks away*

These are the two explanations I came up with:
- I said something completely different in Bislama than what was intended
- She didn't understand that I was willing to pay for classes

*meh* Atleast I tried (I guess)

posted by faa-T @ 1:23 PM