Mergem - on our way!

Tonight at the Academy of Music I kept hearing people say, “Mergeti?” or “Mergem!” These mean, “are you on your way (formal)?” or “We are on our way.” When people ask how I am doing on the nai they usually say, “Mergeti?” This is the formal way of saying, “Are you making your way on the nai?” The first time someone asked me this I said, “Mai rar” which was definitely not the right answer. This means, “very slowly” and even if I feel like I am going slowly it is better to say, “Mergem” meaning “we are on our way” in response. The person asking the question was not sure what to think of my answer. She had meant to be friendly and my response indicated that I was not sure if I was making any progress on the nai. We are always making progress, no matter how slow.  Tonight one of the other nai students said, “Mergeti” when I complimented him on his playing, a violinist and my nai professor exchanged “mergeti,” and on my way out of the building the woman at the door said “mergem” to me. I find this to be a wonderful way of encouraging each other and indicating that we are indeed on our way to playing better or being better. I will definitely have to be more aware of this term. What a delightful and encouraging way of greeting another “fellow traveler.”