Walkies…

All the cool people in this village have walkies.  It’s like an iPhone; a status symbol and seen as necessary to connect with friends three houses over.  You pick your channel number, tell it to your friends, and then talk to them during the day.  A typical conversation goes something like this:

Person 1: Hey, where are you?

Person 2: Here, nothing more.

P1: Where?

P2: Close by.

P1: On this side?

P2: No, more over here a little bit.

P1: Oh, I see.

P2: OK.

P1: Orale (I can’t translate this Mexican phrase, but it’s something like “OK then”)

P2: Yep, that’s how it is.

P1: What are you doing?

P2: Oh, you know…

P1: Are you visiting?

P2: Yes.

P1: Orale.

P2: Orale.

P1:  I called you earlier, but you didn’t answer.

P2: When?

P1: Oh, you know…

P2: Was it in the morning?

P1:  A little later.

P2:  Noon?

P1:  Oh, about then.

P2:  You called me?

P1:  Yes.

P2:  Oh…

P1: Yep, that’s how it was.

P2: Orale.

P1: Orale.

P2:  Surely my radio wasn’t charged.

P1: That happens.

P2: Yep, that’s how it was.

P1: Orale.

P2: Orale, then.

P1: Well, surely we’ll talk some more later.

P2: Surely.

P1: Like when?

P2: Oh, you know…around then.

P1: Orale.

P2: Orale.

P1: Okay, then.

P2: Okay.

P1: Well…

P2: Yep, that’s how it is.

P1: Well, orale, we’ll talk later.

P2: Orale, yes.

P1: Surely we’ll talk later.

P2: Surely.

P1: Orale.

P2: Orale, then.

 

In every culture there are tricks to communicating that have nothing to do with words known or vocabulary learned.  Writing a letter in Spanish requires a certain knack for long intros and flowery phrases. Answering a phone at a place of business in the US requires certain accepted questions and answers.  And radio conversations in this village apparently require lots of words to say very little.  It is funny to me, but I’m not making fun.  In fact, as I listened to one of these conversations last night, I thought to myself:  I need to learn to talk on the radio.  Wish me luck!

Over and out.