The Night I Spoke Only Afrikaans

I went to a concert of regional children's choirs with some friends the other night and sat next to an elderly woman who immediately began speaking to me in Afrikaans. I said to her, "Ek is baie jammer Tannie, maar ek leer nog Afrikaans. Ek is van Amerika. Kan Tannie Engels praat, asseblief?" She looked at me and said, "But your Afrikaans is quite good! I think you'll do just fine!" (This was not true, of course, as my Afrikaans is decidedly NOT good, but I think the novelty of an American attempting to speak Afrikaans amuses people over here.)

Throughout the course of the concert, in between songs, she would lean over to me and say something - always in Afrikaans, but slowly and clearly - and was patient in deciphering my responses. I tried desperately to voice what I was thinking: "Dit maak my huil, Tannie. Die musiek is te mooi." or "Ek hou baie van daardie liedjie."

By the end of the concert my brain hurt. I was frustrated because I couldn't say the things I wanted to say. I felt like I had the vocabulary of a 2-year-old. I was tired and even a bit grumpy.

As we said good-bye to one another, I said to her, "Ek is dankbaar dat u vir my stadig praat. Ek waardeer dit baie, Tannie." She leaned over at me, gave me a big hug, then looked at me with one of those deliberate looks (one that makes you pay careful attention) and said, "Don't stop trying."

I am often too timid to speak Afrikaans because I've made some horrendous mistakes ("I want to cook your mother for dinner" being among the most famous of my errors!). It is humbling to learn another language, to attempt to speak and risk making mistakes that cause people to laugh.

I also realised that last night, I spent the whole evening speaking Afrikaans, and while I didn't say as much as I would have had I been speaking English, I actually survived! The friends that I came with said, "How fun that you got to sit by someone you knew!" I looked at them and said, "But I just met that woman!" They looked at me, surprised, and said, "But you were hugging each other! What is her name? Did she speak English to you?"

The truth is, I have no idea what her name was and no, she didn't speak English to me. But I can tell you that she was one of the sweetest, most encouraging people I've met over here.

Isn't it strange how a chance meeting with a stranger can touch your life? Sometimes it is those random meetings with strangers that do more to point us in the right direction than those that are closest to us. What a gift... what a mysterious gift.