It has been awhile since I have placed anything on the blog, so yesterday when this funny language experience took place I thought it was a perfect story to share. Yesterday, was amazing! The sky was blue, bright, and beautiful. So as soon as we could get ready we went into town to shop for some Christmas stuff and enjoy the blue skies. Well I needed some batteries for my camera, because I knew I wanted to take a bunch of pictures. So I asked Stephen how to say batteries and went in search while he waited on the tram. I went into one store and did not see them, so I then ventured to the next. As I did a walk through, I did not see any. So I decided to ask “Gdzie jest batteria?” Which loosely translates “Where is the battery?” Then the babcia (grandmother or elderly lady) answered “Jakie batterie?” Well I have no idea what jaki means so I stand there, smile, and say “Tak” which is yes. She looks at me very strangely; she probably thinks I am not that smart. Then she says very slowly and very clearly, “Jakie batterie?” Again I smile, because I have no idea what she is asking me. And again I answer “Tak” (Yes). Well she then pulls out some double A batteries and some triple A batteries and I point to the double A. Then she asks “jedno?” Thankfully I know this means one. Well I thought she meant one pack which would have been plenty, so I answer “Tak”. What she meant was one battery. So she pops one battery out of the pack and then I have to say “Przepraszam dwa” which means “sorry two.” Thankfully she pops out one more battery and I have the two I need to make my camera work. Well then I realize I have no money. So I have to ask her to wait because I have no money and I will be right back. Except I do not know how to say any of that! So I say “Oh, nie mam. Un momento.” Well saying this I am pointing to my money (I do not have) and then using my fingers to illustrate wait a minute and walking away and coming back. I run outside get money from Stephen come back in, pay, get my batteries, and make it just as the tram comes. When I get on the tram I am telling Stephen what happened and asking him what “Jaki” means. You might have already guessed it but jaki means what kind. So she was asking me what kind of batteries and I would look at her, smile, and answer yes. Once I found out, I just laughed and laughed. I am not sure exactly what she thought but I am glad that God blessed me with such beautiful skies so in that situation all I could do was laugh. My spirits were high; it was a great day, and a funny story. Here is a little language level comparison for you. This morning we get to church and are talking with a few of the Americans there. One of our colleagues was preaching today, which I was thrilled about because it meant the services would be in English. Stephen was praying for our colleague on the ride to church and the translator who would be presenting the sermon in polish. Well out of the people that usually translate, none of them were there, so the speaker came to Stephen and asked if he would translate. He had no idea what the sermon was going to be about, and he didn’t trust his abilities to take on such a task. But he agreed as the last resort and did an amazing job, only struggled with words like melanoma, pimples, and acne. Not words in the Polish language he was super familiar with! God has been very gracious to bless him with so many abilities like being able to speak the language. I know that God was with Stephen during that trying time giving him the words he needed. And I am so blessed to see all the ways Stephen is going to be able to reach people. For all of us that have to learn the language, we tend to be a little bit jealous as we realize no matter how much we study we are probably never going to be at that level. Oh well, we will make up for the jealousy with all the funny stories we will have instead!
