I was thinking coming to Guinea would help me catch up on some of my old school french, and slowly but surely it's been coming back to me. Although my grammar is horrible and my phrases extremely simple, it's nice to know enough to get by. Now, in Guinea there are over 40 different languages, and I decided to try and learn some phrases in the most common tribal language in Conakry; Susu. My favourite phrase at the moment is M'balanki diki, which means "What are you wearing/how did you dress?!". Now it turns out Susu and French isn't enough as most of our VVF patients come from the tribe of Fula, and as I appreciate being able to communicate with my patients I've slowly started learning some Fula phrases. One of the most useful ones is "ayanohandu kakabine" which is a polite way to ask someone if they've had a poop. I also learnt that So'sata is a way to say you don't like something. The women say that to me when I tickle their feet. If nothing else, me trying to speak Susu and Fula is a great source of laughter to most of the locals, and I love hearing my patients laugh. And just for the record, I have no idea what the correct spelling of these phrases are.
All Love
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