As the Christmas season is upon us multiple packages of amazingness are coming to my local post office. I have become friendly with the lovely Fijian woman and the chatty Indo-Fijian fellow that work there. They are familiar with Peace Corps volunteers and the joy that the unexpected packages bring.
When I checked my small post office box this afternoon and saw a slip inside I was delighted and ran to the postal counter. I greeted them in Hindi and they give a boisterous reply with pride that someone from America is learning their language. We chat for a bit and ask each other what we will be doing for the upcoming holidays. We go through the simple customs procedures and are laughing all the while. It is summer now & rains nearly every day, so not surprisingly while I was there clouds began to glide in and the wind began to gust. So in Hindi I say “panii awaay”, meaning literally “water is coming”, or actually, rain is coming. And the mid-forties, friendly, Indo-Fijian post man is silent for a moment and says “you need to be careful when you say that.” I was thinking huh? That is a common phrase I hear all of the time, I did not understand what he meant. So the conversation goes something like this:
Postman: “You have to be careful when you say that because sometimes people might think water is coming from another place.”
Me: “Ohhh, you mean it means you have to pee? Well, I didn’t know that. I guess if people know that, oh well, maybe they will be friendly enough to show me where the bathroom is.”
Postman: “No, not that.” (He leans in and gently places a hand on my forearm and says quietly), “It means you are close to climaxing.”
Me: (Fairly horrified, laughing hysterically and three shades of red, hiding my face in my bag.) “Ohhhhh, that’s what you mean. Glad I know that now!”
In the future I will be more cautious when I announce “PANII AWAAY!!!!”
As I leave the post office with my new found cultural knowledge and Christmas package, I see a cute little kitten (which they call “pussies”). There are stray animals all over the place here, so this was not a surprise. I have wanted a cat & was giving this cutie some love, deciding if I wanted to take her home & make her mine. As I was leaning down petting her a man walked by and said “Nice pussy, is it yours?”
