Day 15- Communication Breakdown

The drivers hanging out outside the office.

I get car-sick here. Mostly cos the weather is really hot, the air-con sometimes whirrs to a slow warm death, and the roads are bumpier than a motorcross GP circuit. So i sit in the front seat next to our driver, and enjoy the air-con blast at me with the full force of one of those mini hand-fans people carry about foolishly.

Anyhow, I've created a bond with one of our drivers Arshad. Arshad is this really gentle-spoken doe eyed man with the sweetest smile ever. He calls me Nur...not like Nor..but a gentle Noooooor.. cos Iva just doesn't suit him i guess.

Well, Arshad and I have developed our own communicating style. I speak a little Urdu, and always take the opportunity to give him instructions like, “Office, Janna. Challo!” (We’re going to the office, let’s go!) or “Swera janna, ek minute” (Let’s go the the Swera supermarket for a minute).

Besides little word like this, we get along with an absurd amount of body language that we both look like monkey trying to pick fleas from our own backs! Arshad is also my tutor as I try and read the Urdu words in Arabic script, and I think he’s quite pleased with my Urdu progress so far.

Talking about communication breakdowns, PL is trying her best to communicate too. She’s picked up a little bit of Urdu, but certainly not enough to get into any sort of debates with anyone.

Today’s Friday and is usually a half-day for all government offices. But the officers in the department we’re attached to work real hard and stay for most of Friday, after their Jum’at prayers.

The office also has a group of drivers and it dawned upon us that perhaps the drivers would not be able to go home until they sent us back. We really didn’t want to hold them back, so PL decided to go verify the information.

She went outside where the drivers hung out and started what looked like an airport runway!

She started with- “You go home, I go home. I not go home, you not go home?” with her hands flaying about as if she was desperately trying to land an A380.

The drivers got up and also started to wave their hands about asking, “You go home, I go home. I not go home, you not go home?”

This was obviously not working. But being a determined woman, PL persevered in her effort of bridging the communication gap with even greater arm movements, and exaggerated facial expressions!

Finally, after five minutes of this being repeated back and forth, PL did what every wise person would do. She gave up.

“Nevermind, Tik Hey (Its OK!), Bilkul Tik Hey (Everything is alright!). Shukria! (thanks!)”