 |
poop beetle: enchalla
6.2002
My husband's mother doesn't speak English. They are from Pakistan and speak a language called "Urdu". It's a loud, angry sounding language- although most likely it just seems that way because it's foreign and the phone connections are bad.
My husband always starts with off with, "EH! AMI-JAN!!", which I used to think meant "hey, mom!" But "ami" means "mom" and "jan" means "my life". So it's "hey! mother of my life!"
He puts me on the phone with his mom and coaches me through "asalam alikum"- which I pronounce poorly- and can tell because there's always this weird reverb on international calls and I can hear my words echoed back to me.
And then she says "walikum salam. ". This is: 1. God's blessing on you- 2. I wish you the same.
And then she just talks. Obviously I don't understand a word. But it's kind and well intentioned and better than silence. I nod-as if she could see me, and then my husband gets back on the phone.
They both say "insha-allah" a lot to each other- (phonetically it sounds like enchalla) Direct translation: "god willing"- but considering how often it's used- I think it means more like "yes. I agree. You got it. Uh. Huh!"
Very pretty I think.
