- What are you doing?
- I'm killing the snake
- Is it dangerous?
- Yes, very dangerous. Most dangerous snake in the jungle
...
______________________________
Later on ...
- Look over there! See the aligators?
- No, where?
- Over there in the middle of the lake.
All we can really see is their motionless yellow glimmering eyes
- How big is the alligator?
- About 2.5 meters [the adults are that big, the picture is of a baby]
- Is it dangerous?
- No, watch the spikes on the tree.
At first we thought the guide's short yes or no answers were due to his lack of understanding of English, that he would just say yes or no even if he failed to hear what we were saying. But in 3 days we have figured out that he always heard, he always understood, and always gave the right answers.
We have learned to trust this man, his 10 years of military experience, and 7 years as a jungle guide. He speaks a little strange without maintaining eye contact, but that seems to be the custom of the locals. He is very curious about English, and other parts of the world, he's a quick learner, so I gave him my Spanish-English phrasebook as a good-bye present.
No comments:
Post a Comment