When I was on a trip to Swaziland, it struck me that I did not ask about the need for a Visa to get into Swaziland. Everybody I spoke to earlier gave me the impression that Visas were not required when crossing the border from South Africa to Swaziland.
So I’m at Swaziland immigration with a tour group, then I get called. My passport is stamped and then I walk on. But I get called back. They say I need a visa! Whu-wat? I claimed ignorance! I didn’t know. (I was one of the two people in our tour group who’s nationality needed a Visa to get into Swaziland. Everybody else, the Americans and Europeans, did not require a visa).
I was permitted to pass through. When I spoke to the tour guide, I asked for an explanation. I told him that I thought I asked him about Visa. He said (he claimed), “I thought you were American”!
Whu-wat? American? Ka Edong, an American? I asked him why he thought so. He explained: “You speak English so well.”
Yeah right. I wouldn’t know if he was just making excuses. But my wife would probably agree that I might sound American at times. I guess it’s this diction I learned while I was in AIM, having to pronounce words more clearly and with less of a Filipino accent so that foreigners can understand me better.
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