Happy 25th Vero!

Our mid-training language exams were today. The written was from 8-10 and it was similar to the assignments we had been given so it wasn’t too bad. Then we had our oral interviews and I had to wait until after I taught and after everyone had eaten lunch. I know I made some mistakes but I think it went okay. Even though the scores don’t really matter until our final exam at the end of training (when we need Intermediate-Mid), I was glad we had Jumapili because I like his attitude and I think he speaks fairly clearly. We were pretty spent after the exams and teaching so we went home early, which allowed me to catch up on some of my journal/blog entries.

Today is Vero’s birthday! As I was walking to join my friends to celebrate, I had a man stop and talk to me. He was very kind, especially with sticking to Kiswahili (not going into English though he knows it) and talking slowly. He seemed really happy there are so many of us teachers here. I thought it was neat that he was wearing an EMS shirt (Eastern Mountain Sports). Along the main road, I talked with a woman a little bit who also spoke such that I could understand her. Although I had to leave our conversation to join my friends at the field (throwing a Frisbee as usual), it was nice to have such a pleasant exchange with a local. I also felt good because I had taken my oral exam only hours earlier and here I am using the language effectively to communicate with someone. So even if I happened to do poorly on the exam, which I doubt, I still can have confidence in my abilities because of my practical application. Go me! J

Most of us from the 3 CBTs in Kihonda met at the bar for some drinks (not all alcoholic) and guacamole that Ghee and Eric made (Vero is Venezuelan). The guac was awesome and we had a great time just hanging out for a bit. Unfortunately, Vero is sick and can’t talk much (we had our orals too remember) but she enjoyed herself anyway. Katie showed off her new dress that she had her mama make because she’s a seamstress. The fabric has some scattered outlines of giraffes on it and apparently Doug, Carolyn, and Paff all picked out the same design for things they are having made. It’ll be interesting when everything is done and they all wear them the same day. I can’t wait till I can get something made.

Walking home tonight I saw a good forest fire going on the mountainside and I also ended up talking with some little neighborhood kids. They were pretty cute but I think only the ones a little older understood that I don’t speak great Kiswahili because I am still learning. With talking to the people on my way out and the kids on the way back, I really had a successful day of interactions. I followed it up by using my dictionary while watching the news to try to figure out what was scrolling across the bottom. I was able to deduce some of it but it still wasn’t clear. Plus I’m not sure how they determine what international news is worthy of mentioning because it just didn’t make much sense to me.