Maasa Awo!

A Ugandan taxi

In this part of Uganda, the main languages spoken are English and Luganda. English is taught in all the schools, but among those in the villages or those with less education, Luganda is the language of choice. I am trying to learn some bits and pieces but it is difficult for me because it is not like anything else I know. My background in Spanish is of no use to me here.

Let me give you a taste (spelling may not be 100% accurate):

Good morning, madam – Wasuze otya, Nnyabo
Good afternoon, sir – Osibya otya, Ssebo
How are you? – Olyotya?
Fine – Jyendi
Good/well - Bulungi
Well done – Jebale (ko)
God bless you – Mukama akuhe mukisa
Thank you – Webale
What is it called? – Ogamba ki?
What are you doing? -  Okola ki?

Simple, right? That’s what everyone tells me.

Nonetheless, I have made some rather embarrassing mistakes in my efforts to learn some Luganda. On a minor scale, for a few days I was greeting people by saying, “Wasuze bulungi,” which I suppose would have the effect of saying, “Good morning, I’m well.” I don’t care how you are, but I just want you to know I’m doing fine.

Then, the other day, I wanted to clarify the phrase for “What is it called?” and I said, “Osamba ki?” which, instead, means, “What are you kicking?” Um…..

By far, the fan favorite here seems to be my misuse of the phrase “Masa owu.” Those who know this story love to retell it or remind me of it, much to my chagrin. See, my goal was to learn some words and phrases that would help me to get a taxi or boda boda. So, I learned some numbers (good for bargaining for prices) and the phrase “Drive slowly” (Vuga mpola mpola) as well as phrases that might help me tell the driver when to stop. Evidently, this phrase “maasa awo” means something along the lines of “there, up ahead”, which is useful if you see the place coming and you want the driver to slow down and let you off. However, I erroneously believed that the phrase was translated as “right there,” and it was the only good phrase (I thought) that I had in my Luganda vocabulary. So, one day, I was traveling by taxi (15-passenger van) from Kalisizo to Bisanje (How many kilometers? I don’t know. About a 15 min. ride). The taxi was going on to Kampala, but I had told the conductor that I needed to stop in Bisanje. I knew he didn’t understand me, so I was watching carefully for the place where I needed to get off. We were going very fast, so by the time I had spotted the place, we had already past it. Pointing backwards, I said to him, “Bisanje, maasa awo!” He was understandably confused and did not know what to do, since I was pointing behind and saying “up ahead.” Finally, I just shouted, “STOP!” I got out and walked back to my destination. (This all happened in a full taxi, mind you.)

As Providence would have it, the next week when I was traveling to Bisanje, it was the exact same conductor and driver who took me there (of all the hundreds of taxi drivers in the country). This time, I didn’t have to say anything. He just looked at me and said, “Bisanje?” and he stopped at exactly the right place.

I guess, sometimes, it’s not so much about the destination, but the journey. Sometimes. In this case, I am just glad I made it to Bisanje.

On a related note, I am asking for prayers for my friend, Sr. Regina. You may remember that I mentioned her in a previous post (Derek and I spent a day traveling around with her bringing Holy Communion to homebound members of the community). Last week, Sister was standing on the side of the road in front of her convent, waiting for a taxi to bring her to town, when two cars collided in front of her. Trying to avoid the collision, one of the cars hit her. She is now in the hospital with a broken rib. My friend, Cashmail, and I visited her on Sunday, and she is doing well, considering. She has some stitches but no significant head injuries, which she counts as a great blessing. Also, she has a good appetite, which is always a great sign. Still, she is suffering much from chest pains because of the broken rib, so if you can please pray for a quick and full recovery for her, I am sure she would greatly appreciate it…..and so would I!

As always, thank you for your prayerful support. Please know that I am praying for all of you and your intentions. If there is anything specific you would like me to pray for, please let me know. J