Failure To Communicate

THESE ARE JUST A FEW OF THE FUN CHALLENGES WE'VE HAD WITH THE VARIOUS AND NUMEROUS FOREIGN PRODUCTS WHICH FILL THE SHELVES IN KINSHASA.



Some products are fairly easy to figure out, even if they ARE in another language.


Other products tease you with a little English, but remain "inscrutable"!

This was easy to translate, so we bought it.  Then we got ready to prepare it...

Oh, oh!  Can't figure it out!  That's OK... they also have the more directions in another language,
probably English.

THERE!  Now, let's see... 

Do you want to know how to work the evil washer/dryer combo I call "H.A.L."?
Just read the instructions below...

I KNEW I should have taken that Koran class!
For those who don't know Arabic, they also have instructions in French, German & Chinese.

A manual for the "Evil-Cousin-to-HAL" Oven.  The GB is for Great Britain, but don't be fooled.
The stilted English instructions, full of malapropisms, were written by a Chinese author... 
and were almost as hard to understand as the French, German and Greek that followed.

Judging from my experience with this product, "Tertmiz Bulasklar Yumusacik Elter" is Turkish for:
"Pretty aromatic pink liquid which does not actually clean anything."

Give me your best guess...What does this picture look like to you?
My guess was artichokes.  "Mais, No"!

IMPALPABLE... adj. 1. Not perceptible to the touch; intangible.  2. Difficult to perceive or grasp by the mind.
Sooooo...it's sugar that you can't feel OR comprehend?

Take a capsule daily on a full stomach & those pesky Congo mosquitoes won't give you Malaria.
 (well, most of the time!)
The interesting tradition among the Senior Missionary Couples here is for the host or hostess to pass around the box after dinner.. lest anyone forgot to take theirs that day. 

Here we have an unusual mix... German, Norwegian, Spanish & Arabic.  
I'd need all my fingers & toes to count the total number of THOSE nationalities here.

Look at those little critters!
These are de-worming pills... and when we leave the Congo, we will have to take the medicine.
Personally, I was sorta hoping to get a tape-worm & lose some weight.

Found this on my desk at the Mission Office.  Essential equipment? 

Apparently not.

George & I really liked the name of one of the assignment areas on our Kinshasa Mission wall board.
For a fun name, "Bumbu A" just cannot compete!

Loved the look of this Knorr soup.
Thought the picture on the package looked yummy.
Liked the fun name.
Fixed it for soup & sandwich dinner this week.
Didn't notice small red pepper in upper left side.
Should have.

George decided to get this different brand of peanut butter because it was cheaper.
Well, it IS different because it's honey!

Was sooo excited last week to see "Sparkling Apple Cider" on display near checkout.  
Chilled it and pulled it out for our anniversary dinner.
Got one good sip in before George read the fine print.
Anyone want some slightly used 4.5% alcohol Sparkling Apple Cider?

The "Pièce de Résistance"...
Our first week here, President and Sister Jameson took us grocery shopping.
They helped us get used to foreign labels & products and gave us guidance on quality, brands, etc.
Guess I didn't listen carefully to the comment about a certain cut of meat being good for hamburger.
For the past two months, the butchers have looked at me strangely when I told them what I wanted.
Turns out, I've been pointing to the wrong cut of meat and we've actually been eating ground 
Filet Mignon hamburger in various dishes at least once or twice a week!!
"BON APPÉTIT!"