12/13/2001:
“jirahatu as-sinani laha ilti’aamun, wala yaltamu ma jaraha al-lisanu.”
What (sharp) teeth wound will eventually heal, but what (sharp) tongues wound will not heal.
12/14/2001:
mama came up to school yesterday. watched my 3rd year EE class. nothing special. we sat and talked in the staff room a bit. the proverb above came up... i can’t remember why exactly. funny how rich our and African culture are in words. ours written, theirs oral. though ours wasn’t always written. many other commonalities.
mama has been highlighting these commonalities for all our guests. we’ve had a ton. just about 2 or 3 every night. she’s been a gracious host. great food, company, conversation... couldn’t ask for more. for me or my guests. Allah ya’teeha al-‘aafeeya wa y'khaleelna yaha [may God bless and keep her].
and i’ve been trying to be nothing but grateful, patient and affectionate... can’t be anything else as she deserves no less. tomorrow we leave for Bamenda. then Limbe for IST. a week or 2 of rest and catch up on letters home and reading for pleasure. as when i come back there’ll be much to work on.
IMAGE: this is my mama mubaraka (blessed mother) in wum! a very green wum, at that.
ReplyDeletethe picture was actually taken during my mother's second visit to cameroon. yup, she came twice!
on her second trip, during part of the rainy season, she caught a glimpse of how green wum could be.
there's a story behind those white gloves she's carrying! stay tuned for that. good stuff.