Exotic?

I’m in the bathroom minding my own business when the person in the next cubicle starts having a conversion I assume with someone else on the phone. I was amused when I realised she was speaking both my dialect (Luo) and national language (Swahili). My first instinct was to say something in either of those languages but I am all grown now and I don’t talk to people in the toilets, especially if I cannot see them. Unless of course I am asking for a square of the toilet roll.

She leaves before I could catch a glimpse of her. But when I get to my dance class, I see the only other African person in class. I know we live in a society full of cultured people and anyone could have been speaking my language but I am taking my chances.We do the ” I see you brother/sister” African nod but say nothing to each other; as is the rule. I note that she is new by the way she took the corner spot at the back, and kept looking at her feet when she danced, just like I did when I was a dance newbie. Many moons later, I have graduated to the front line and for some weird reason I found myself trying to be better, ok I admit I was showing off a bit.

First break comes along and I walk over to her and say hello in Swahili smiling more to myself in anticipation of her surprised look. In my head, I was to say hello in Swahili, she would gasp and ask how I knew she was Kenyan, then I would pull some mentalist move and earn my cool kid badge. These opportunities don’t come along too often.

In reality, I smiled and said hello in Swahili, she looked at me over her shoulder, sized me up and turned her head back to her phone. As my coolness slowly melted away, I sat next to her and asked where she was from. She replied with a bit of a twang “I’m from the Caribbean” My queue to gasp as I wasn’t expecting that. Again, I know, cultured society. She then glosses this over by adding that she only speaks French, German and Spanish. Now I am properly wowed. I find multi linguists fascinating, especially if they are fluent in all the languages they speak.

I then say to her that I could have sworn I’d heard her speaking Swahili and Luo in the bathroom not too long ago. Her queue to gasp, followed by a jump, an oh my gosh, a thigh slap and an additional octave in her voice. “You speak luo too! so what are we doing speaking in English, let’s speak dholuo!

My response; wie bitte?