Hurry, Hurry, Fast, Fast

I'm not a sociolinguist but I find languages fascinating. The other day I was walking past a Ghanaian man talking on his cell phone in Twi (a local language here). Suddenly, in the midst of a sea of words I could not understand, I heard, "Hurry, hurry. Fast, fast." Why did he need to switch to English to use those words? In a culture where relationships are valued more than task, where listening to someone is more important than crossing off my "to do" list, where greeting someone before you get to the point of your conversation is a very high value—hurry, hurry, fast, fast is apparently a value grafted in from the West. I chuckled as I walked away and slowed my pace down just a fraction—reminding myself that I can enjoy the journey just as much as the destination.

By Karen Carr of Mobile Member Care Team,
Ghana, West Africa, http://www.mmct.org/

More Words of Wisdom

"I expect to pass through this world but once. Any good, therefore, that I can do, or any kindness that I can show to any fellow creature, let me do it now. Let me not defer or neglect it, for I shall not pass this way again.'" – William Penn

"Humor is a rubber sword; it allows you to make a point without drawing blood." – Mary Hirsch

"And in the end, it's not the years in your life that count. It's the life in your years." – Abraham Lincoln

"Sympathy has been defined as two hearts tugging on one load." – Michael Josephson

"Long-range goals keep you from being frustrated by short-term failures." – J.C. Penney

"Genius is one percent inspiration and ninety-nine percent perspiration." – Thomas A Edison

"Let us make all of our choices, not by default, but by very careful and prayerful planning, for the choices we make will make us—for time and eternity." – Dick Innes

"I don't know the key to success, but the key to failure is to try to please everyone." – Bill Cosby

"The greatest good you can do for another is not just to share your riches, but to reveal to him his own." – Benjamin Disraeli

"Your ship won't come in until you row out to meet it." – Unknown

"When two egotists meet, it is a case of an I for an I." – Unknown

"It is of no profit to have learned well if you neglect to do well." – Cyrus