In week 5 of language school we are inching past the infant stage and attempting to speed crawl. There have been many challenging days alongside of times of tear jerking laughter. Above all, we have learned that learning Amharic just takes a lot of time. So it fits in well with the rest of life in Ethiopia where just about everything takes two or three times as long as you might think, on a good day. But, there is a saying that helps describe all of this. “Cus ba cus, encular ba eger telyedalich.” Literally translated this means, “Slowly by slowly, the egg will walk.” I kind of like it and in a weird sort of way it is true. So the next time you are struggling, just remember that the egg will walk!
Below is a video of Jalayllie, Bryan’s teacher, with the correct pronunciation in Amharic.