I've been meaning to journal the funny things Nate and Dag say as they turn Amharic into English, but it hasn't happened yet, and I'm bound to forget it all at the alarming rate I am losing brain cells these days. So before it doesn't happen anymore I'm going to blog about them and then just add to my post as "funny" happens.
Most of the good ones come from Nate, due to the age difference, and the funny things Dag says usually sound like all the four letter swear words we try to avoid at home. The word for pee in Amharic is Shint, so a couple times, as we have been in church or the grocery store, he has announced as loud as possible, "Shint, mom!" But the "N" sound is often muted when it comes out of his mouth...not good. The boys were having him repeat animals to them the other day and there is no "x" sound in Amharic so "fox" got a "ck" sound instead...not good again. Spencer and Carter thought it quite hilarious however, and had him repeat it over and over, until I caught on. I guess it's not so bad, my little brother Eric's first word was Jack Ass and usually in church. Where did he learn that, mom?
I think I already posted this, but after Dag had only been home about 3 days, the first english that came out of his mouth was, "DON'T TOUCH!" complete with a little finger shake. Hmmm, I wonder if I was saying that a lot?
Whenever we tell Nate to, "say please," or "say...", he says exactly that, "say please" not just "please". So today, he answered the phone, which he loves to do, and I don't love him to do, especially when it is a 1-800 number. But he did, and they asked for his mom, so he ran through the house yelling, "mom, mom." When he finally found me in the laundry room he said, "hello" one more time, and I heard the man say, "is your mom there?" I whispered so quietly, "say no," and he did just that, "say no," then hung up. Sam felt bad for the guy, because it reminded him of his mission when little kids would come to the door and say, "My mom told me to tell you she isn't home."
Nate loves to have me help him wipe after he goes to the bathroom, but it can take quite some time for him to finish his business. He yells, "MOM!" I go in and say, "are you finished?" and he says "no," I think he's just making sure I haven't left him, so I go back to cleaning up messes and then I hear, "MOM, are you finished!" but not in question form, he is letting me know he is finally done.
Nate loves hamburgers. Last week I took him to Carl's Junior, so he could blow off a little energy on that nasty play structure. When he unwrapped and took his first bite of hamburger he said, "mom, I love you!" He really meant he liked hamburgers, but I'll take the love when I can.
Dag calls a bath a "DUB-a-DUB" with really cute actions like he's washing his body and a huge grin.
Last night Nate was telling Sam and Carter all about life in Nazret, Ethiopia. His stories of the orphanage are a lot of actions and sound effects and they often sound like the worst horror story ever....I don't know if he is making things up or if it really happened, but anyhow Sam said, "Well, Nate, do you like it here?" He instantly put his hands on his head and said, "Hair?!" It was funnier to see in real life.
While eating hot dogs for the first time last week, (I know mom, they are really bad for us and I should never feed them to my children.) Nate did another one of his, "Mom, I LOVE THIS!" about his hot dog. When he finished the first one Sam asked, "Nate, do you want another hot DOG?" You should have seen the look on his face. "Dog? Nate no like dogs!" He is really afraid of dogs, and one of his Nazret stories is about getting bit by a dog. So Spencer leaned over and quietly whispered, "Nate, no dog, CAT!" So funny, and he ate another.
I must say they have come so far in 7 weeks I am amazed. I think it has been at least 3 weeks since Nate spoke any Amharic. A little sad that he can't practice it and keep his native tongue, but I must admit, I do look forward to long conversations in English with him. He has a lot to say and has got to be so frustrated with us. However, in six months I might also wish he couldn't talk so much.
