When we first got here, the language sounded like complicated gibberish. I could recognize a few isolated words here and there, but overall, I was lost. I’m still lost most of the time, but there are times when I understand more. It’s funny, though, when you learn a new word or phrase, you start to notice it everywhere.
One word that we learned recently was ‘ayo’- it means ‘let’s go’. Seems like a good word to know, right? Turns out that’s true. I’ve heard my share of it since we learned it. Language comes in small pieces. You don’t download it into your brain and suddenly understand everything (although if you know how to, let us know). There are little victories like hearing a word like ‘ayo’ and knowing what it means. And there’s lots of times I have no idea what’s being said.
One thing we’re told is that language is best learned in the context of relationships. If there’s someone you see on a regular basis, who knows you, and knows what you know of the language (and what you don’t) and who cares about you as a person, then that will go a long ways towards helping you make consistent progress with the language. And you also have a friend.
So a week or so ago, I was at the badminton hall. By the way, badminton, or ‘bulutangkis’ is not the sport I always thought it was. It’s intense. Go look it up on youtube and you’ll see what I mean. Anyways, I was there, kind of hoping they wouldn’t want me to play because I look a little ridiculous trying to. And I was trying to talk to a guy there I had met before, without much luck. Then this other guy came up and wanted to take my picture (they love having their picture taken with foreigners). So he did and we talked a little bit and I found out that he has a small ‘warung makan’ (it’s like a tiny restaurant). So we went and ate there the next day and we met some of his family.
So I think I made a friend. And I think we’re starting to get familiar with our neighborhood and some of our neighbors. Things are happening that are helping us to learn the language and culture here. We will only be here about a year, though, probably. So that’s a little bit sad. But this is part of how God is preparing us to plant a church in a unreached tribe in this country.
Praise:
-Making friends and learning
Prayer:
-Perseverance (we are progressing, but learning a new language is still a very difficult thing)
Thanks!
The McIlroys