Elevated Words

Photo: Faisal B.

A collection of quotes by our supervisor Ntema. Whether speaking normally, joking around, or bestowing philosophical wisdom upon us. He always keeps things around the office interesting…

He loves using the phrase “No progress” This usually comes up when we tell him what our plan is, what we are going to do, or what we have already done. I sure hope he actually means “No problem.”

When casually discussing the size of allocated plots:

“It is 5km by 5km and I can not walk that far unless I smoke a lot of shit.”

“An elephant charged me last night. I was just walking home there and it charged me”

“What did you do? Run?”

“Like Ussein Bolt. I think if he had been there I would’ve beat his record.”

“My people are the river people. And everything is from the river. Fish, water lillies and all aquatics. And the floods are coming and the flies come. And they do not relocate. They tell YOU to relocate. Because they adapt. This is how it is.”

“You laugh at me that I call him old man. But he is old. And he calls me young man. The trick is to be somewhere in the middle.”

“I’m kidding. Can I just say that in English? I’m kidding?”

“Um yeah you can say that, like a joke, yes.”

“No even if I’m an old man… I’m KIDdding. Like that hahah Kid-ingggg.”

… continues to laugh to himself while typing and quietly uttering kidding.

“Many ways to fool a cat”

“No one is perfect. Today you are a sinner and then you are forgiven and then a sinner again and then forgiven. It is just a process. So don’t worry. Just don’t worry.”

Conversation over surveying questions and gathering quantitative data:

“Sometimes you have to ask male or female. You see I could be Ntema. Put makeup on, nice and smooth. Look really pretty. But I am talking in a deep voice you see, and I have my nails and they are all nice with the whites and roses. Then you have to ask.”

After a Monday chat/briefing with Ntema, Susan, Lyndsay and I:

“I have closed the meeting with a prayer in my heart. And it is okay if you don’t hear it because God an and he knows that we are done.”

“You see now I am forgetting like a small baby man… What was that rude?”

“Nope, just funny.”

When giving us the keys to lock up the office:

“I can give you the key. But not my sole.”

“I was thinking about the roof and how it protected. Shielding me from the sunrays. And then I began to think how it was compared to life. Perhaps you do not realize it is there and its significance is neglected until it is gone.”

“There is time to rest when we are dead.”