Communication by Coincidence
So I’m sitting in a computer repair shop in Tamale right now playing Jason Mraz and thoroughly enjoying my freshly repaired power adaptor, and which is enabling me to be on my beautiful Mac.
What have I learned this week?
Well that coincidences are awesome, no really I have had these coincidences which allow me to have a great time, but I also think that Ghana is a breeding ground for serendipity.
Ooh I was able to speak with a few Fulani people today, these are nomadic tribesman from places like Mali,Ivory Coast, and Burkina Faso, now normally I can’t speak to them but since they are from french speaking countries I was able to and VERY EXCITED. It was like this treasure box was magically opened to me, the lock broken off.
—they are so beautiful, they have the most kind look in their eyes and I want to communicate with them the things I have learned
, and hear the secrets of the world in return.
, and hear the secrets of the world in return.
I love it about communication. I love learning different ways of communication. You see a person from different points.. Russian, English, singing, drawing, dancing… All these complicated systems are so amazing!
June 8, 2010 at 3:18 am
Hi Sarah,
I am curious to hear what you talked to the Fulani about. I was a JF in Ghana in 2006 and saw the Fulani from afar but didn’t get to engage them in conversation. I am interested to hear what challenges they have as nomadic people in such a tough environment and to know more about their culture and way of life. Any insights would be great!
Ian
P.S. I am Ian Froude, I work at the EWB NO, and I am UVics chapter buddy : )
June 8, 2010 at 3:33 pm
Ian that’s awesome, my conversation was a warm up one, but I will definitely ask them those questions. They seem very open once I started to speak to them, especially greetings in their native language which has an Arabic alphabet. One of the older members of the community was teaching me some of this language.
—And Alisa, I know what you mean when you watch someone conversing in their native language you can see their true personality. Like with the Fulani, the old men would laugh and laugh and laugh when they told each other things.
June 9, 2010 at 7:29 am
Sarah! Wow, that is amazing! How did you meet them/what were you doing? Did you host parents have a problem with this?
Ian- were these the same people your host parents did not allow you to talk to?
June 9, 2010 at 9:48 pm