Horizons magazine is published by Presbyterian Women (PW) the national women’s organization of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.).
Issue link: http://horizons.epubxp.com/i/521232
22 afternoon light slanted through the palm trees and the open sides of the church. "Mbae": A Complete and Perfect Failure It didn't take long for the local chil- dren to discover that my language lessons provided quite an entertain- ing show. Elder Albert and I would find ourselves at the center of a crowd of preschoolers who provided an audience for my lan- guage lessons. They would cheer and applaud when I repeated a word or phrase correctly, and groan and laugh when I got it wrong. I made good progress, and was able to memorize the Lord's Prayer and the first part of the 23rd Psalm, while providing good entertainment for the village kids. And then we got to the syllable "mbae." At first, this didn't seem all that hard. After all, English has the word "bye." Just hum a little at the beginning, and there's no problem, r ight? Elder Albert would say "mbae," I would repeat "mbae," and t he kids would cheer. But some- times Elder Albert would say "mbae," I would repeat "mbae," and the kids would giggle and roll on the floor. It became obvious very quickly that there were two "mb" sounds, and that I was not hearing the dis- tinction. I think that it had some- thing to do with the amount of pop or puff or explosiveness of the "b." But the more I tried to hear and repeat, the worse it got. After a while, Elder Albert frowned and gave up, and the kids took over, all 40 of them yelling, in their shrill voices, at the same time, to get me to hear the difference. I eventually walked away from the village in the dusk, with no clue how to distin- guish those two sounds. I had failed, and in subsequent lessons, continued to fail. That failure changed my entire relationship with Takara Village. I was now welcomed not just into the church as a visiting dignitary from the other side of the planet, but into their homes as a peer in learning, an equal, a brother in Christ. My fail- ure was a gift to me. More importantly, it was also a gift to the village. While Elder Albert was teaching me his lan- guage, it showed the entire village that he was my teacher. There I was—a rich, white, highly-edu- cated, American male, an elder in the church—and with all that "sta- tus," I was a complete failure at what any four-year-old village child could master. If only for an hour or two, colo- nialism was reversed. Elder Albert was the master, and I was humbled. A Dance of Gree ings BY KATE TABER The traditional response to "Hello!" in Palestinian Arabic is "Two hellos!" Here, greetings are a well-choreographed and beloved dance. Phrases a re colorful and exuberant, and often incorporate faith in God. One of the rules is that you must try to be the most gracious, outdoing the other's good wishes. "Good morning!" is followed by literally "A morning of light!" or the way it was originally interpreted to me: "An even better morning!" Participation in any of this dance of greetings lights up the face of the Palestinian you speak with. They will promptly say, "Oh, you speak Arabic well!" (even if that's the only Arabic you know) and tell you, "Welcome, welcome!" In Israel–Palestine, language is at the root of identity, culture and conflict. Israelis speak modern Hebrew, and Palestinians speak the Levantine dialect of Arabic. As a people who have felt ignored or abandoned by much of the world, Palestinians are delighted and surprised when foreigners show knowledge of their language. It creates an instant connection. It sends the message that you are not an Israeli settler or even an oblivious tourist ignoring the context around you. You respect the culture and the people enough to engage with them in their language. I have learned that my ability to engage in this dance of greetings and well-wishes gets me an immediate open door and goodwill. I will teach you when you come! Until then, Yatik al afia- ma- is-salaami! God give you strength— peace go with you! Kate Taber is a PC(USA) mission co- worker serving as facilitator for peacemaking and mission partnerships in Israel–Palestine.