It has nearly been 3 years here in Kenya and I am sad to report my vocabulary in Swahili has not improved a whole lot from when we took Swahili classes when we first arrived. Some of my wonderful excuses:1) Hey I am a primarily a mom so I am limited to go out and learn the language as a majority of my time is raising my kiddos.
2) I have friendships with the more educated women who speak English- they need to know about Jesus. (And since they can also speak Swahili, if I can make an impact on them then maybe they can go and talk to other women that I cannot communicate to)
3) I am just plain stubborn.
Now I know these excuses are not necessarily good at all. Jason and I have come to realize that our daughters have not been able to pick up the language and a big reason could be me being unmotivated myself. Not wanting them to miss out on this great opportunity to learn while they are young I have started to take them to one of the schools once a week. They really look forward to putting on their uniform, packing their lunch pails in their backpacks, and then going to be with the other kids their age.
I am sitting in their class with them and hope to be a student as well. Right now they are looked upon as quite the prized pupil being the first white children to attend their school and perhaps they have ever seen. When we arrive they usually get surrounded and then touched. The kids touch their arms and fingernails and hair a lot. Righteous has gotten very patient and just lets them. However Nevaeh gets really annoyed and screams NO and eventually starts crying and wants me to hold her. As I continue to go each week my hope is it will become normal to have Righteous and Nevaeh as one of the students and they will be treated like all the rest of the kids and even start talking with them. (My hope is I will start to be a fluent Swahili speaker as well ;)
I am sitting in their class with them and hope to be a student as well. Right now they are looked upon as quite the prized pupil being the first white children to attend their school and perhaps they have ever seen. When we arrive they usually get surrounded and then touched. The kids touch their arms and fingernails and hair a lot. Righteous has gotten very patient and just lets them. However Nevaeh gets really annoyed and screams NO and eventually starts crying and wants me to hold her. As I continue to go each week my hope is it will become normal to have Righteous and Nevaeh as one of the students and they will be treated like all the rest of the kids and even start talking with them. (My hope is I will start to be a fluent Swahili speaker as well ;)
7 comments:
So sweet! You guys are awesome!
going to school, how exciting! When Mahalia and I taught at the school, even at the end of the year the students still tried to touch our hair. I've got a couple of "class" photos with the students, and there I am in the center with three girls holding my hair straight out. nice. :)
the girls look so cute in their uniforms. so sweet.
Love it! Seeing the girls in those uniforms makes my heart SOO happy. :D Miss you guys! And, miss everyone at Righty and Nevaeh's new school!
The girls are SOOOO cute in their uniforms!! So fun :) It's gonna be great for them.
Aww the girls look so adorable in their uniforms! I think it is awesome that you are trying to learn Swahili along with them. I have been trying too, and I have actually learned so much here at my university. I can't wait to come back to Kenya and practice with you!
Bekah - don't feel bad. I have every motivation in the world to learn Spanish, but have yet to get beyond the "Beginner" level. I really believe that you have to immerse yourself in the culture and leave yourself no other option in order to truly learn another language. With the whole world striving to learn English, it's a challenge to swim against the tide - but not impossible.
I feel your pain about learning another language. I struggle learning Spanish and a lot of the words are similar to words we use! I know half of it is my attitude...I just have trouble adjusting it. :)
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