Embarrassing Moments

    When I was sitting in the airport, catching up on my magazines, I came across the articles about people confessing their most embarrassing moments. It made me think about all the times I had done something ridiculous over the two years. So without any hesitation, it's confession time. You're welcome.

Language
It's no secret that there are always some language barriers when you try to communicate with someone who doesn't share the same first language as you. I was fortunate to be in an area that spoke fairly good English, but that did not exclude me from making a fool of myself when it came to communicating. During my first two months of PST, we learned the local language, Siswati. In one of the lessons, we were learning body  parts. I was learning the word for "butt", which is "sibunu" (I think I spelt that right). However, when I went to repeat the word to my language instructor, I said another body part, which happened to be 100 times more inappropriate than the intended word. Needless to say I made him blush and he called me a "naught naughty girl". Opps!

Then there was the time when I told my students to "get out a sheet of paper". I didn't understand why my students were laughing. Since none of them had followed my directions, I said it again, "take out a sheet of paper". The laughter kept rolling in. I eventually realized that to them, my accent made it sound like I was saying, " a SHIT of paper"; so that whole time they thought I was cursing.

This next incident wasn't really a language barrier, it was just me being stupid. When I was in the capital city I saw a girl who looked familiar. I shouted her name but she didn't respond. I knew this girl though! So I shouted her name again, nothing. I finally went up to her and said hi. She equally recognized me and we embraced in a hug. I then began to make small talk with her and asked her about her family whom I knew were visiting America. She looked like she didn't hear what I was saying, so I continued to talk about her and her family. She then began to speak like she knew what I was talking about. A few moments later we boarded our khumbi that would take us to my village where we are both from. But when I saw her get off the bus 20 minutes before our village, I realized I had made a huge mistake! She wasn't the girl I thought I knew after all! I did know this girl, but I only knew her as my friend's sister who I met briefly once. I was confusing her with another girl who I knew because she went to my church every time she was in town. Now it all made sense.  She wasn't deaf, she just didn't respond when I called her name because I wasn't calling her name! And she didn't understand why I kept saying her family was in America, because they weren't. She was so sweet though to oblige me in my idiocy. Every time I think of this incident, I feel so stupid. God bless her.

Clumsiness
When someone falls down, I can't help but laugh. I am no exception to my rule. When I fall down, run in to walls, or get smacked in the face, I'm the first one to throw my head back. For instance, there was the time when I was walking down the main road in my community. That route is host to the social center where everyone goes to drink. Basically it is the most populated area where you go to see and be seen.  Anyways, as I was walking past, this big truck comes down the road and it does not give way to pedestrians. I thought for sure that this truck would move, but its only a few yards away and headed straight for me. I end up having to leap out of the way. As I make my landing, I trip on my heel and cut my toe on wire. Blood everywhere. Then there was the time I was walking down the same road and coincidentally a car is driving down, not paying attention, and it almost hits me. Again I have to practically dive out of the way. This time I completely fall and scrape my knee. Blood everywhere.

Wardrobe Malfunction
Nothing is worse than standing in front of a class with your fly unzipped, oh wait there is. I taught an entire class with one of my buttons unbuttoned and my bra showing. Or how about the time when I was in the Indian Ocean swimming and my bathing suite kept coming off because the waves were too rough. Yes, boobs out, people everywhere. Then there was the time when I was at the annual Reed Dance, were nearly the entire nation comes to celebrate. I was dressed in traditional wear, so of course everyone wants to get a picture with me. Well the people got more than the bargained for when my lihiya (skirt) fell off as I was posing for a picture, and I am standing there in front of everyone in my underwear. Wish I could make this stuff up.

Sometimes it's not about being exposed as it is how you dress. For example, in the rainy season, the roads turn to mud. It is horrible. So what do you do? Wear rain boots. So as I walk around in my rain boots, feeling cute; people are laughing at me. For a while I didn't understand, but then someone explained it to me. The rain boots I was wearing were the type of boots the "cane cutters" wear. Cane Cutters are kind of like the lowest position who work in the fields all day and cut sugar cane.  So people in my community thought it was too funny when they saw a white girl wearing those same boots.

Speaking of mud and people laughing at me, there was the time when I had "mud butt". I'm not talking about the mud butt people joke about when they are on the toilet, that is gross. I am talking about the time when I was walking down the muddy road in my flip flops, because at the time I hadn't bought the rain boots yet. As I was walking, the back of my flip flop was flicking mud up on to my orange pants! The color contrast was horrible and noticeable. It took over 15 minutes for someone to actually tell me I had mud on my butt.
Thank God, I'm back in America and I don't have to worry about such things anymore.