If I had to pick a phrase that I utterly loathe in the English language, then this would be it!
It's
So vague
So open-ended
So inactive
So lazy
In fact, I may not be very fluent, but I'm almost 100% sure such a phrase does not exist in my mother tongue, Runyoro.
Back in the day, I used to say it a lot. Weeks, months, YEARS even, would go by… and ‘Some Time’ would never materialise.
Last month, I had a telephone conversation with a friend, which ended with him saying
“I really enjoyed this conversation. We should do this more often. Let’s get together sometime”
I responded, “When you say, let’s get together sometime, do you have a specific date in mind? Because if there isn’t, I can see us having this telephone conversation in a few months time, ending with the same sentiments… until the next telephone conversation”
There was a pause on the other end
Him: “You know, now that you say it, that is actually true. I never thought of it that way” We arranged to meet for drinks the following week
The first thing he told me was
“You know what you said the other day really challenged me.”
Apparently he was speaking to another friend, whom he hadn’t seen in a while, and was just about to end the conversation in his usual fashion, when he stopped himself and then made a definite appointment. In that moment, he realised this why he had drifted away from so many friends over the course of the years.
Now I can 'see' you my fellow Africans howling! "We are not ‘bazungu*’ who always make appointments to see people."
Tell me! When is the last time you met up with your friends… YES… you who live in London on your own, and the only contact you make with your friends is either by telephone or email. Do you even know what they look like these days?
(Don’t get me started on that particular peeve of mine. I hate the way phones have replaced face-to-face communication!)
Life in London is way too busy for vague phrases like ‘Let’s meet up sometime’
* white person or foreigner in Swahili language
It's
So vague
So open-ended
So inactive
So lazy
In fact, I may not be very fluent, but I'm almost 100% sure such a phrase does not exist in my mother tongue, Runyoro.
Back in the day, I used to say it a lot. Weeks, months, YEARS even, would go by… and ‘Some Time’ would never materialise.
Last month, I had a telephone conversation with a friend, which ended with him saying
“I really enjoyed this conversation. We should do this more often. Let’s get together sometime”
I responded, “When you say, let’s get together sometime, do you have a specific date in mind? Because if there isn’t, I can see us having this telephone conversation in a few months time, ending with the same sentiments… until the next telephone conversation”
There was a pause on the other end
Him: “You know, now that you say it, that is actually true. I never thought of it that way” We arranged to meet for drinks the following week
The first thing he told me was
“You know what you said the other day really challenged me.”
Apparently he was speaking to another friend, whom he hadn’t seen in a while, and was just about to end the conversation in his usual fashion, when he stopped himself and then made a definite appointment. In that moment, he realised this why he had drifted away from so many friends over the course of the years.
Now I can 'see' you my fellow Africans howling! "We are not ‘bazungu*’ who always make appointments to see people."
Tell me! When is the last time you met up with your friends… YES… you who live in London on your own, and the only contact you make with your friends is either by telephone or email. Do you even know what they look like these days?
(Don’t get me started on that particular peeve of mine. I hate the way phones have replaced face-to-face communication!)
Life in London is way too busy for vague phrases like ‘Let’s meet up sometime’
* white person or foreigner in Swahili language
