Shikamooo mama

We have now almost completed our first week of intensive Kiswahili classes, and boy is it intensive. We have Swahili class four hours every morning, and often we go overtime. In theory, we are supposed to have two hours of lecture, and then two hours of discussion with small groups and Swahili tutors. So far our lecture has been much longer than our discussion sessions, but in any case it is exhausting. The teaching style is really different here than from what I have experienced in the U.S., and I am doing my best to adjust. We have learned very little structure and grammar, but there is a strong focus on vocabulary and common phrases. Our instructor also makes sure to emphasize words that we should NOT mispronounce, like “jambO” (hello), because “jambA” means to fart. The most important aspect of the Swahili language that I have been able to determine is greetings. There seems to be an infinite number of different ways to greet someone, and there are separate greetings depending on whether you are talking to someone who is older or younger than you. Before any conversation starts, we are told to exchange three or four greetings of “hi how are you?” back and forth using different words until you are absolutely certain that the other person is doing well. Another major difference between Swahili and English is that when telling time they use an entirely different system. In Tanzania, the day starts at 6 a.m., so in Swahili 6 a.m. would be written as 12:00. So when it is 3 p.m. for us, they say that it is 9 p.m. (or saa tisa kamili mchana). Anyhow, it is confusing but we have been practicing a lot. I am pretty terrible at Swahili at the moment, but I am looking forward to when it all sinks in and I can have real conversations. We have quizzes every Friday so I am a little bit nervous for tomorrow.

            Other than Swahili classes, we haven’t been up to much else. People have been practicing a lot outside of class, which I think is helping us learn faster. We are taking research methods classes as well, but that class only meets twice a week for one or two hours. The deadline for our research topic is approaching, but I am still pretty lost and need to do more research before I make any decisions. Last night a small group of us went to the woodcarving section of Mwenge (the big market), because some years back someone started a volunteer opportunity where students come to teach the woodcarvers (or anyone else who shows up) English, and then we get to practice our Kiswahili. Some people have been going every evening all week, but it was my first time and it was awesome. I didn’t really know what to expect but I had so much fun. All of the guys (there are hardly any women) are really friendly and eager to learn, and are super patient with our broken Swahili (and shoddy English grammar lessons). I hope that I can go a few times a week because that was the most fun that I’ve had in a while. That’s really the only big news from the events of this week, I am looking forward to the wikiendi. I would love to hear about anything that is going on back at home or elsewhere!