Language

There are several people I interact with on a weekly basis that speak little to no English at all.

The man who irons our clothes: Iron-walla man.

The man who owns the fruit stand I frequent once a week: Fruit-man.

Auto rickshaw drivers: Auto-man.

The little store on the corner with everything: Everything-store man.

Our rich neighbor: Rich-man (non-disclosure of name for privacy).

These encounters are summed up with various gesteres and single worded questions and answers. In a land where English is so widely spoken, especially this city in particular, yet almost daily I am meeting folks who cannot speak one sentence in English.

Today I made my usual stop at the fruit stand where more flies than people are present (a sign of fresh fruit!) and began another Hindi lesson. Ever since I started going to this particualar place, the man won't allow me to speak in English. "Try, just try" he told me today when I attempted to count in Hindi but became shy in my feeble attempt. He deliberately asks me questions in Hindi, and waits with a determined smile on his face for my answers. He is taking his teaching position very seriously, and explained to his co-workers that I must only speak Hindi to them. When he asked where my home is and I confused the word "house" with "watch" and told him the time, he patiently but with that teacher's smile said, "NO." He repeated the question and waited, arms folded. I answered correctly on the second try, and was given the bill for my two sacks of fruits as a reward.

I am glad for people like the fruit-man, iron-man, and everything-man. I appreciate their determination to make a learner of me. Most likely they go home and tell their families about the American girl who gets shy counting to ten and laughs when she's nervous. It must be a good story to tell. Kinda like this one.