A second lesson, this time in the art of Zamtalk L/R reversal

Have I written about the Zambian L/R switch yet? And no, it's not left/right switch (although I've found that directions and determining between left and right can be challenging here too), but it's literally switching Ls for Rs and vice versa. I guess in Nyanja the difference isn't all that great, and with the Zambian accent both Ls and Rs are trilled allowing for easy mix-ups, but we hear it ALL the time from coaches who are implementing our "culliculum" (curriculum).

Right now I'm reading tons of applications from people who want to be GRS coaches and for some reason seeing the L/R switch written is that much more hilarious. So far I've come across:

• Someone who claimed to do XYZ in their "dairy life" (translation = "daily life")
• Someone else who wants "the privirege of working with GRS" (translation = "privilege")
• Someone who has the skill of "cloud control" (read = crowd control. Although cloud control would be nice when we have outdoor events during the rainy season)
• Someone who is "royal to all activities" (royal, loyal, same difference).

Letters are also often just forgotten in words. And not because they're not pronounced. Just because...they're easy to forget. The best one I've seen (and I showed it to my Zambian coworkers who died too) is someone who wrote:

• "I don't think I will have any problems because I won't shit soon."

Here, "to shift" means to move, but the person conveniently got mixed up and forgot the F! Whoops. I laughed so hard.

One or two last ones? I'll try to snap a picture of this soon, but on the way to a new(ish) area where we're working there's a sign on the side of the road that reads, "supriers of blocks" (instead of "suppliers"), and of course, you can never forget that this year is an "erection year" (otherwise known as an "election year") - Zambia is trying to get more women involved in politics. My coworkers favorite saying or misquotation? "Women need to be on top this erection!"