But we both speak English!

Friday, August 20

(The photo is Susan and I in front of where we are staying out in Kpong)

Today I felt a nagging sense of frustration for a good part of the day. Every day has been filled with such interesting people and experiences that I was surprised to be feeling this way. It took me nearly all day to figure out what was bothering me.

In the morning I called David (the guy who helped show me around the Arts Center last weekend) to ask him if he still had something I wanted to buy. After trying to explain myself about 5 times and getting nowhere, he said I should call him back. Instead I handed the phone to Naadu and she called him back. After about 60 seconds, she was hanging up the phone, problem solved. While everyone here speaks English, they seem to have a very difficult time understanding me. The rest of the day was similarly filled with interactions where I just wasn’t being understood and no matter how many different ways I explained it, I just couldn’t get my point across. For the sake of the sanity of myself and the person I am trying to communicate with, I have tried to give up a few times and just let it go, but I always end up going back to what I was trying to explain and trying again. Even when I’m talking to someone at home, I get really frustrated when I am not able to properly communicate what I am thinking or feeling. In coming to Ghana, where nearly everyone speaks English, I wasn’t prepared for such a communication barrier. At the end of the day I talked to Susan about my frustration and she helped me see that most Ghanaian people speak quite a bit slower than Americans do. With my accent, she said that I was just talking way too fast for people to be able to understand what I was trying to say. I have since tried slowing down with much better success. It is still an effort to understand what other people are saying and to have them understand me, and the telephone is still wretched, but I feel better about being able to communicate effectively.

The highlight of my day was during the trial with an infant in the study. Since most of the study babies cry when I look at them, it was a surprise when this little girl looked at me, cocked her head inquisitively, and then giggled. I waved at her and she burst out laughing. Every minute or so she would settle down until she looked at me again, I would wave or smile and she would burst out laughing again. After awhile the mother laughed and explained that all of the girl’s baby dolls and toy dolls are white. She said that the baby thought I was a giant talking doll, and she thought it was hilarious!