Tone of Voice

Friday 15 August

It was Friday that I almost lost it in the burn room…not lost it crying, but lost it screaming.

Tone of voice is big in my family. Maybe I’ve mentioned this before, but the only time I was ever almost grounded was for the tone of voice I used with one of my parents. Equally as important as what you say is how you say it. This proves hard when interacting with people who don’t share the same value…Uganda is no exception. Instead of asking you to do something, or asking you for something, orders are given. Commands that you do something or give something or any number of things. “You give me your money” or “you go get me more gauze” or “you do it this way”…and the tone of voice is one of commands, not an inquisitive tone of inflexion…it drives me bonkers. I almost flew off the handle in the burn room on Friday after one too many orders/commands thrown my way…I wanted to scream “Don’t talk to me like that!” and instantly images of my parents saying the same to me came rushing back…instead of yelling I took a few deep breaths and managed to keep my cool…it was close though…