Day 22: ABC's and 123's

When I was preparing for my mission to Argentina I went to the Missionary Training Center for 2 months of language training. We studied pretty extensively over that time and by the time we left we felt pretty confident with our language skills. After all, we could talk to each other almost exclusively in Spanish. We thought we had the Spanish language mastered.

My confidence was quickly dashed as I boarded the plane flying from Miami to Buenos Aires. There was a large group of Argentine kids returning from a trip to Disney World. I quickly realized that speaking "spanglish" with a bunch of English speaking guys was completely different than speaking true Spanish. I could not understand one word these kids were saying. I knew at that point I was in trouble. Once I arrived in Argentina I was given a native Argentine companion who spoke very little English. I still remember vividly walking the streets with him my first day there. I tried and tried to understand what was being said. However, outside of a few "hola's" and "si's" I was pretty lost. Gratefully the Lord blessed me and the language skills soon came.

Now I find myself once again in language training. This time I am trying to learn some Dari so I can communicate with my Afghan counterparts. Obviously my expectation is not to become fluent like I did with my Spanish, but I hope that I can learn some basic salutations and greetings. I think the Afghans I interact with will appreciate someone who is trying to understand their culture and way of life. I thought you might be interested to see a sample of the language. Below are the numbers from 0 to 9. Writing the numbers actually is easier than it looks once you practice a few times. Luckily I will have a translator to fill in the gaps once I arrive in Afghanistan--a luxury I didn't have in Argentina.