Brushing up on my Lwo!

I'm returning to Gulu for the third time in four years, and it still feels a little unreal as I'm not really ready to leave. I think once I go to the store to buy my bug spray-maybe I'll only bring one gallon with me this time j/k- then I'll feel ready to go.

I should probably be working on my Lwo (the tribal language spoken by the people in Gulu), and because I haven't done much practicing this spring/early summer, I thought we could do some together.

Let's start with Hello- Apwoyo (Ah-foy-yo)
Good bye- Apwoyo
Thank you- Apwoyo
Good morning- Apwoyo
Good night- Apwoyo
Well, that was hard, but I think I'm ready! Ok, so honestly the language is a lot harder than that, but they do use the word Apwoyo for many of their greetings. On a more serious note, here's one of my favorite phrases;

De dong maber (day dong [like gong] ma-bay)

When someone is leaving, for either a short time or a long trip, they use the greeting De dong maber. The person traveling then responds with De wot maber [day watt ma-bay]. Those people staying say, "Go well" to the person traveling. The person traveling then responds by saying "Stay well." I love this interchange between the two parties. I love how it acknowledges both the traveler and those staying, in essence validating the health and wellness of both sides as they are apart.

Hopefully this blog can be a place for you to check up on what I will be doing, the school I'll be teaching at, and as always, some crazy stories about Africa. But more importantly, I hope that you will also comment and share about your summer. Without your comments, this one sided blog is not very exciting. Plus I can find out how you are 'staying well' and you can learn how I'm 'going well.'

So from now till August- De wot maber
-Lagum Trisha