Oluzungu Wange

"Oluzungu Wange" - I am about 85% that means "my English" in luganda but if it doesn't....have grace on me, Im still learning!

Despite the fact that I can still only greet in Luganda, it is a fact that over the last year and a half, my English HAS changed...

I don't really notice it much, but I think that's because it is a gradual thing...I was actually talking about it with my sisters (Liz & Angie) this past week and we all laughed about it!

So how has it changed...well...this is what we concluded...

1. Its slower...and if you speak to me quickly, sometimes I don't understand a word you are trying to tell me!

2. My accent is different...at least that is what I am told because really...I don't think I had an accent to start with! haha!

3. I use British spellings of English words now and even have my PC set for UK English on the spell check...this plus my bad spelling to start with has made it literally impossible to spell anything at all without spell check so if you find misspellings...have some grace on me!

4. I use new words for old ideas...For instance:

Full stop = A period at the end of a sentence
Shifted = Moved
Flash me = Call me on my cell and hang up before I have a chance to answer it!
Rubber = Eraser
Jam = Traffic
Abused = Talked badly about someone
Funny = Weird
Paining = Hurting

5. I over emphasize personal pronouns...For example, I might say, "For me, I'm tired" or "For you, you are fat"...From what I gather in Luganda lessons its a matter of translating Luganda into English because in Luganda, you double your pronouns for emphasis.

6. I am no longer politically correct...if you are black, I call you black; If you are white, I call you white; if you are some version of Asian, I will probably call you Chinese; if you are overweight, I will probably call you fat...hey...dont get mad...its a cultural thing and well...I have embraced it! Actually here we even distinguish between shades of black, so if you ever hear someone ask me who someone is, I would probably answer and say, you know.."he is the really black one" or "he is the short skinny brown one....!"

But anyways....I am sure there were more but at 9pm that's all I can remember!

I hope that doesn't discourage anyone from calling me cause it is nice to get a long distance person to chat with! I will try to keep up, just please, don't use any new slang, or talk 4,000 words per minute and we should be fine!!