Don't forget the full stops!

As a Primary teacher, I spend much of my time reminding children to read their work back and check the punctuation. Even smart Year 6 children are often guilty of neglecting full stops and capital letters. I therefore, found the following conversation quite amusing:
"Are you from England?" the shop assistant asked the other day as I nattered to a friend at the check-out.
"Yes, why do you ask?" I replied.
"It is because you are talking very fast. It is like you are talking without the full stops. An African always talks using the full stops!"
I laughed at the time, but it's actually quite an acute observation. As native English speakers we don't use full stops when we speak. We start mid sentence, often trailing off before the end, or find ourselves interrupted by another person. I know some people who even interrupt themselves!
But Ugandans DO use the full stops when they are speaking. There are many more pauses for breath. Contracted forms of words are also rare, for example this common comment -  'You are looking smart today!'
Most Kampala residents speak English, with varying degrees of fluency, depending on their education, upbringing, age and occupation. Luganda is widely spoken in the home,  at social events and in many day to day exchanges, but English is the language of business. So why do we use the same language so differently? In the villages, every conversation starts with a few polite exchanges - how is your mother, your father, your sister and so forth. I think that we muzungus are often perceived as being a little rude as we jump straight to the point. We are constantly racing around to hit deadlines. It doesn't even occur to us to ask about the family, the the state of the country of the latest football results before we ask what we really want to know. We pick up our phones, bark a few quick exchanges before hanging up ... if we speak at all. More often that not, we are just texting or sending one line emails.
I wonder if we are missing out in our abruptness. Wouldn't we get more out of our friendships and work relationships if we actually took the time to chat a little more?
From now on COMMA I will try to stop for breath COMMA and make use of the FULL STOPS .