Smiles and the Ewe Language

The other day Godson and I went to market. I was tired and wanted to hurry up and get through so I wasn't on top of my game in regards to speaking the Ewe language. I stumbled and got tongue tied here and there and the more I did, the more I just wanted to be home.

As we were making our way through the market from the okra seller to the area where they sell fish, Godson was walking in front of me and I tell he was smiling. I had just finished a conversation with the woman selling okra. In this conversation I started speaking in Ewe and messed up and finished in English even though I knew she didn’t speak a lick of English.

I assumed Godson found my error humorous but still I asked, “What are you smiling about?” His response was, “No” which here in Ghana means, “I’m not going to give you an answer.” (That used to drive me nuts but now I can better accept it.) Being my Ewe teacher I consider it his job to correct me even if it is against custom so I said, “Why no? You are smiling. You must be smiling for something. Is it because of what I said?”

His response changed my entire attitude that day and even to this day.

“You make people happy. Even if they are having a very bad day, you can just change it just by trying to speak Ewe. When you leave a place, everyone in that place is smiling and they have forgotten their problem.”

Granted, I don’t see myself as the One who wipes away people’s problems but if I can be an encouragement to others, it’s worth it to gather the strength and energy and do my best. Language is such a basic thing but it has such POWER!