video;

[byweavinglives]

[The camera shows a little girl with black hair and brown eyes - she looks eight or nine.]

Nanny....nanny! Onda fya ondjala!

[There's a pause here]

Tate?

[Another pause, as she considers. She looks like she's thought of something, though!]

Haai? Ek is verlore...ek het honger, ek soek na nanny...

[She pauses again, and speaks once more. Her

Comments

[threadthefire]

[Oh, joy, another one.]

Miss Saya?

[prewoven]

No, Satya.

[threadthefire]

Apologies, I didn't mean to mispronounce. [This is going to go splendidly, he can already tell.]

I hate to have to tell you this, but you're not in your home.

[prewoven]

[Sigh]

It's all right. My nanny says it wrong, too.

Do you know where the American Embassy is?

[primrosella]

Miss Sa--er, Satya?

[prewoven]

Do you know my father? Did he send you from the Embassy?

[primrosella]

...No, I'm afraid I don't, but perhaps I can be of some help to you, even so.

[prewoven]

Oh.

Do you know where I am? M-Cinna gave me breakfast, earlier.

[cold_dry_pieces]

How many languages do you speak?

[prewoven]

[PAUSE, and this is the sound of someone counting on her fingers]

Oshiwambo, Afrikaans, German, English, some Dutch, and very little French.

Six? But ta- my father, he says that Afrikaans and Dutch are almost the same language so it doesn't count.

[cold_dry_pieces]

I don't know either of them, so I'll have to take your word for it. Either way, five or six, that's a lot.

I don't think anyone here can show you to the Embassy, I'm afraid.

[prewoven]

It's because my nanny, she taught me Oshiwambo, and sometimes we speak Afrikaans because my father has to practice, and we learn German at school, but we speak English too, and I started French this year.

My auntie says bi-lin-gui-lism is important. That means more than one language.

[Said with a heavy air of authority, okay?]

It's okay. Cinna gave me food, and Rosella, oh, she's staying with me!

audio ][

[worksmart]

Satya Daphne Wallace?

audio ][

[prewoven]

[Yes!]

Yes, that's right, did my father send you from the Embassy?

audio ][

[worksmart]

Do I sound like I'm from an American embassy?

audio ][

[prewoven]

[A pause here as she tries to puzzle his accent together]

Americans have all kinds of funny accents.

[Because hers isn't funny, it's normal]

[whitetwoguns]

You're on your own for a little bit, sweetheart.

[prewoven]

I've been alone before.

Once I got lost in the airport in Johannesburg for three whole hours.

[whitetwoguns]

Brave girl. Well, this'll be longer. But then everything'll be okay.

[prewoven]

I'm glad everyone speaks English. My German is terrible.