Dymela!

Dymela!
Agee.
O kae?
Ke gona.

This is about all of Sepedi I know so far, a colleague at work is teaching me.
Very loosely translated,
Greetings!
Greetings.
How are you?
I’m fine.

People here are VERY patient with my language deficit and my accent.
I know for a fact that more than several people can not understand anything
that comes out of my mouth.

Language is interesting…here are a few differences I have picked up this week (by being totally misunderstood) [ If nothing else this year, maybe I can be comic relief for the school.]

Students ---- learners ( students only refers to university students)
Grading-----marking
Homework -----home activity
Ms. ----- Mam
Teacher’s lounge---- staff room
Schedule ----- time table
Index cards ---- record cards
Eraser ---- rubber
Chalkboard eraser ---- board duster

I am sure there will be many more errors to come.
As I have been told frequently this week, I will learn a lot this year.