Misunderstanding Fatuma

There are so many things I want to be able to say, but just can't.  I find this especially true in regards to Fatuma, our house helper.  We were able to get connected with her because she was previously working for friends of ours who are no longer here.  The agreement was that we would continue to hire her and she would do the same things for our family as she was doing for the previous family.  Well, obviously things are not always that simple, and Fatuma is really thoughtful and considerate so as to do only what I ask her to do.  Well, that doesn't always mean a lot, when I can't really ask her to do anything.  I'm sure she is probably more frustrated in the situation some days than I am, but in the short and long of it all, we are really glad to have her with us, helping us learn the language and navigate some culture, as well as having clean laundry.  We had a funny misunderstanding today that finally got resolved with the help of a translator.  I have been wanting Fatuma to cook a simple meal each day at lunch time, but we don't always have the right things to cook, or there isn't enough time, or I just flat out don't know how to ask her.  So today she showed up with her daughter (age 10) and after coming from the market we sat down to have 'chai' (tea).  We exchanged a few words, and I showed her what I had learned that day.  She then proceeded to tell me something that I obviously didn't understand.  I thought I heard the words "eat" and "food" along with the Arabic of "today", so I assumed that maybe she was trying to tell me that today she would cook lunch and eat with us.  But what I was saying back didn't seem to be what she meant to tell me.  So after a few more failed exchanges, we both decided (with the use of hand motions) to call a friend of ours that could translate for us.  Thankfully the friend was available and answered the phone.  After a long greeting, she was finally able to get to what she wanted to tell me.  Today was a holiday, in Arabic, an "Eid".  She also knew that the word for holiday in French was "Fete".  So she was saying, "today, Eid, Fete." (not "today, eat food")  And she was hoping to go home early as she was expecting company.  It all made sense to me at that point, why her daughter had come with her (who is usually at school) and the words she was trying to say before.  So, I was happy to send her home and make lunch for my family.  I'm sure there will be many more similar conversations, but probably not with the use of a translator.  Most days we just shrug our shoulders and smile knowing that someday, lord willing soon, we will be able to share a common language.  I'm so thankful for Fatuma, even though we can't talk to each other...Yet!