Watch the Walk

Photo credit: XKCD.COM Seeing is not always understanding. I see two men arguing and the onlookers laughing slightly. I can easily observe that they're laughing. But why? Are the men not really arguing, they just appear to be? Is this truly humorous? No, islanders often laugh when they're uncomfortable. Last night as I was leaving class, I heard some strange noises and looked over to see a person being held/restrained by two other people. My first thought was that they were attacking the person. No, the person was possessed by an evil spirit and they were protecting the person from harming themselves or others. Seeing is not always understanding. But the longer I'm here, the more I get things. I understand better what's really going on. My friends are more real with me about the way life is. And through understanding I can speak Truth into their lives more effectively.

In language learning, you quickly realize that, while some grammar boxes are the same, others are completely different. It's the same with word meanings. In English we might say that to need and to want are different words. In Clovish (the language of Clove Island) they are the same word. In English we might say that we raise people, plants, and animals. In Clovish we use a different verb for each type of growth. As we learn the language, we create new boxes to understand it better. The same goes for culture. In America, someone telling me what to do when I'm walking down the street would be put in the "rude" box. On Clove Island, it's in the "family/friends" box. Only those who care about you will say things like that. Or the fact that every.single.person asks if I'm married and why I'm not married. I have to consciously take that from the "annoying and rude" box and put it in the "normal and matter of fact" box. People being...