We have both had communication difficulties this month:

Penny told Dyna, our former language teacher, that Dean was buying sand, and Dyna asked why he needed it. Penny replied, “Aku panga chimbudzi.” With a hint of a smile, Dyna asked, “Aku manga chimbudzi?” A couple of hours later Penny suddenly burst out laughing, realizing what she had said. “Manga” and “panga” both mean “make,” but in a different sense. Aku manga chimbudzi means, “He is building a toilet,” while aku panga chimbudzi is, well, something that you do in the toilet.

Dean’s communication problem was more about culture than language. He mentioned to the Kindle driver that at some point in the next few months he may need to move out of his staff house and into a house closer to the place where he works. This sent the driver on a frantic search for a new place to live, with the result that over the weekend he moved his family so far away that it’s almost impossible for him to do his job! What is taken in the United States as a passing comment or suggestion is heard in Malawi as a direct command. “May need to move at some point” is heard as “Get out now!”