CULTURE or CHARACTER?

The culture that I have learned from birth frown on repetitiveness.  If you repeat yourself a lot, people say, "Nalopti ka ngo!" That statement that is usually exclaimed with the appropriate irritated tone literally means "How inside-out you are!"  Doesn't make any sense in the literal English.  Usually, there are two interpretations about a person that is 'nalopti' or 'nalotik' in other Kalanguya dialects (but I think that is a loan word from our sister language Ibaloi).

The first interpretation is that the person who keeps repeating himself is deaf, and that is okay. That is not so critical.  But when one keeps asking a questions when the answer was already clearly stated the first time, it means that he does not trust the answer to be right, and so he keeps asking the same question over and over.

I for one don't like too much repetition; you could blame it on my Igorotness (Kalanguyaness in particular), and maybe a little bit of my personality. Whatever works. :) So when this happened to me recently, I was so irritated, I almost threw my laptop against the wall.  Okay, not my laptop... just the mug filled with my steaming coffee.  But really, I was so angry I snarled at the wrong person.  Okay, I did not snarl, cuz we were yahoo messaging but I forgot to put a smiley on what I wrote and when you read it aloud without a smiley, it would sound like a she-dog snarl.

I was blaming it on the fact that I haven't been able to work in the last few days because all I have been doing was answering emails and tweaking things.  So I was expecting that at last, everything was clear and I could go back to work.  But then this question came and I answered it politely and patiently, and clearly (at least I thought I did.)  A few minutes passed, and the question was back, just phrased differently!  Then again, I answered  and said "Yes, that is correct!"  And then came another reply, "OK, thanks.  So does that mean you did not ..blah blah blah?" And then that's when I lost it.  It's either he thought I am a liar or  one who is so daft that I might not be understanding the question correctly.

Haayyy!  I said I would only be blogging about the Igorota's goodness. I guessed, the bitchiness will have to be in the mix there somewhere, or else it would be so fairy-tale-like and boring.  (I just read the script of the movie Ever After. Yup, I'm into reading scripts of movies that I have seen in the past.  It is almost the same as viewing it with all the visuals and audio, only of course you have to be seeing the scenes in your mind.)

I guess the person only wants to really really really confirm the answer; so yes, I did answer it politely and patiently the third time, but then I had to come here and vent and bore some unfortunate reader, right?  'goodness!

mY Synapses...