Friday afternoon I taught a coworker’s class as he was sick. Perhaps taught is the wrong word to use. I always like to answer questions before I begin the day’s lesson. As this was the first time I had been in this particular class, I asked if they had any questions, not just English questions.
Here are some of their typical questions:
How many children do you have? This is a question that is not discussed in normal Kenyan society. I think perhaps it is due to superstition. You don’t want the evil spirits to know about your blessings. If they know, they might cause harm. If you know someone well, they know about your family, but it is not common when introducing yourself to give private information like this.
The next question is always, “How many grandchildren do you have?” An important part of African culture is the continuity of family lineage. Having children is a mark of adulthood and extremely important as a measure of your worth. Childless women are a disgrace. It is a man’s duty to abandon a barren woman in order to beget children. They can’t begin to imagine that our daughters’ lack of children doesn’t bother us. It doesn’t matter that they have successful careers that are extremely satisfying.
“What is your traditional food?” The main staple of their diet are corn and beans. They don’t have the variety in diet that we do. Every day they eat ugali with sukumawiki (chard) or githeri (cooked corn and beans). It is a special treat to have rice which isn’t considered heavy or starchy enough to be filling. Other special treats are chapati (similar to tortillas), meat of any type, chips (French fries). The school diet is: hot black tea and 2 slices of bread for midmorning tea, lunch depending on the day ugali or githeri, and supper is ugali. They don’t have variety. They do get one small piece of beef (beef cube) in their stew on Saturday evenings. When the girls go out for school trips, they love to get soda and white bread for their meals, sometimes samosas. They don’t think we eat nearly enough.
Circumcision is an important rite of passage. It marks acceptance into adulthood. The entire community celebrates the circumcision of those old enough. They can’t understand that we don’t have a similar practice to mark the transition of a child into adulthood. Thank heavens, female circumcision is a dying tradition in most places in Kenya. People don’t talk openly about it.
They also can’t believe we don't pay dowry to marry. Here a man’s family pays a dowry to the wife’s family. It is a symbol of her worth. It is a sign of respect to her parents for raising her. The dowry might include animals such as cows and goats, luggage, fabric, food staples and an amount of cash. It is usually a large amount that takes several years to pay off. Simon, one of our teachers, is probably in his early 40s. They have two children that I know of but probably more. He has paid off the dowry for his wife and is going to have his marriage blessed in the Catholic church in two weeks. It is a big celebration that the entire school staff is looking forward to.
A later question is “Do people in your country practice witchcraft?” It is quietly practiced here. They do believe that people can curse you. It’s not as bad in Kenya as in Tanzania where it is rampart. Anything bad that happens is usually attributed to a curse someone has placed on you, especially the death of a young person.
Things they can’t believe:
We don’t send our students to boarding school.
We don’t teach Christian Religious Education in our schools.
The majority of people know how to drive.
We don’t have a national identification card.
We can survive in the winter. (Keep in mind they don’t have heat in their homes.)
It's interesting that they shake their head at our culture, while we shake our head at theirs. I always pray that I am learning the best from their culture as they learn something good from our culture.
Sunday, July 20, 2014
Sunday, January 26, 2014
Kenyan English
As a teacher of English, not English teacher, I find the usage of words so interesting in Kenya. Here are some more examples of Kenyan English.
One of the young teachers on staff had hurt his arm over the weekend. As I was shaking his hand in the morning greeting, he said, “My arm is shouting.”
A student was describing an argument between her sister and her, “She was flinging harsh words at me.”
“You’re phone was crying,” was how I was greeting upon my return to the staff room after class. Translation, your phone was ringing.
I give fellow teachers a ride when I am leaving school. They think our car is so nice. One of them commented, “I am feeling the car,” meaning it is such a nice, comfortable ride.
During the rainy season the roads can be very slippery as they are dirt and dusty. When that dust gets wet, it almost feels like you are driving in snow or ice. I was nervous thinking I might end up in the ditch when a rider commented, “Your car is dancing.”
When faced with many options they will say, “I’m spoilt for choice.”
There was some confusion as to whether the entire bill was paid. I was told, “You are a clean lady. You don’t owe anything.”
Both students and teachers like to sit in the sun during the morning break. They call it basking. I was surprised one morning when I was told that I was swimming in the sun as I was standing in the sunlight waiting for class to start.
When asked if students are ready for an exam they usually answer, "Somehowly." There is no such word in the Oxford dictionary. I won't allow them to use it in my presence
One of the young teachers on staff had hurt his arm over the weekend. As I was shaking his hand in the morning greeting, he said, “My arm is shouting.”
A student was describing an argument between her sister and her, “She was flinging harsh words at me.”
“You’re phone was crying,” was how I was greeting upon my return to the staff room after class. Translation, your phone was ringing.
I give fellow teachers a ride when I am leaving school. They think our car is so nice. One of them commented, “I am feeling the car,” meaning it is such a nice, comfortable ride.
During the rainy season the roads can be very slippery as they are dirt and dusty. When that dust gets wet, it almost feels like you are driving in snow or ice. I was nervous thinking I might end up in the ditch when a rider commented, “Your car is dancing.”
When faced with many options they will say, “I’m spoilt for choice.”
There was some confusion as to whether the entire bill was paid. I was told, “You are a clean lady. You don’t owe anything.”
Both students and teachers like to sit in the sun during the morning break. They call it basking. I was surprised one morning when I was told that I was swimming in the sun as I was standing in the sunlight waiting for class to start.
When asked if students are ready for an exam they usually answer, "Somehowly." There is no such word in the Oxford dictionary. I won't allow them to use it in my presence
Form I Student Selection
Our principal and three teachers have spent the past two days in Eldoret for Form I student selection. When they returned to school today they were ecstatic. Jomo, the Academic HOD said, "We are the hot cake." I had to ask what that meant.
First a little background . . .
When Standard 8 students (8th graders) take the KCPE (Kenya Comprehensive Primary Exam) they indicate three secondary schools they would like to attend. Their scores determine whether they are able to attend one of their choices. The Department of Education looks at this information when assigning students to schools, but in the past their personal choices really had little weight. This year, however, they gave students to their first choice schools if they had a high enough score on the exam. I guess there were even some schools in our area that didn't have any students request them! How embarrassing would that be!
We were given 184 students who scored high enough to qualify for our school and listed us as their first choice. The best news is that their scores are higher than we've ever received before. In the past our KCPE scores were in the 320s to 370s. This year the lowest score to be admitted to St. Monica's is 357. We even have several that scored above 400 out of 500 marks.
In the past there have always been several no shows basically because they don't like the school they were assigned to and want to find a better one. Last year we had over 50 no shows probably because parents didn't want their young daughters to be so far away from home during the election. Since all 184 students requested St. Monica's that means they'll show on the first day unless there is a problem with fees. That means we can start classes with them immediately and have high expectations of them from the very beginning.
"We are the hot cake" means we have arrived; we are the hot item, the hot seller, the popular choice. People are seeking us out and want their daughters to come to our school. It's a reflection of our 2012 KCSE scores. We really can say we are one of the top schools in our area.
You can sense an excitement, a sense of pride in both the girls and staff. Last year’s Form IV was a difficult class with many discipline problems. This year’s Form IVs, are motivated and well behaved students. They are true leaders. We expect even higher scores from this group than in 2012.
Meanwhile, we are waiting for the Form Is to arrive on February 6th.
First a little background . . .
When Standard 8 students (8th graders) take the KCPE (Kenya Comprehensive Primary Exam) they indicate three secondary schools they would like to attend. Their scores determine whether they are able to attend one of their choices. The Department of Education looks at this information when assigning students to schools, but in the past their personal choices really had little weight. This year, however, they gave students to their first choice schools if they had a high enough score on the exam. I guess there were even some schools in our area that didn't have any students request them! How embarrassing would that be!
We were given 184 students who scored high enough to qualify for our school and listed us as their first choice. The best news is that their scores are higher than we've ever received before. In the past our KCPE scores were in the 320s to 370s. This year the lowest score to be admitted to St. Monica's is 357. We even have several that scored above 400 out of 500 marks.
In the past there have always been several no shows basically because they don't like the school they were assigned to and want to find a better one. Last year we had over 50 no shows probably because parents didn't want their young daughters to be so far away from home during the election. Since all 184 students requested St. Monica's that means they'll show on the first day unless there is a problem with fees. That means we can start classes with them immediately and have high expectations of them from the very beginning.
"We are the hot cake" means we have arrived; we are the hot item, the hot seller, the popular choice. People are seeking us out and want their daughters to come to our school. It's a reflection of our 2012 KCSE scores. We really can say we are one of the top schools in our area.
You can sense an excitement, a sense of pride in both the girls and staff. Last year’s Form IV was a difficult class with many discipline problems. This year’s Form IVs, are motivated and well behaved students. They are true leaders. We expect even higher scores from this group than in 2012.
Meanwhile, we are waiting for the Form Is to arrive on February 6th.
Tuesday, January 21, 2014
Christmas in Nigeria
We were able to spend two and a half weeks with Katrina in Nigeria for Christmas. She kept us busy with all kinds of activities: a wedding, ultimate football, cricket, a baby naming ceremony, the psychology department Christmas party, greeting her colleagues, lunch out, shopping, visits to a tailor, Christmas concert, and Christmas services. However, the best part was being able to spend quality time with our daughter.
To see more photos click here.
To see more photos click here.
Tuesday, January 7, 2014
The Gift of Bread
I just unintentionally gave the monkeys a nice gift. I've been sitting out in the banda reading since I've been home from school. It's only about 12 feet from the back door of the house. I'd seen and heard monkeys in the trees by the fence and had seen that they had even gotten as far as our water tank.
I don't know what made me look over at the house, but I saw a tail of a monkey in the kitchen window! I looked down on the ground and saw that they had gotten the loaf of bread I had left out on the counter from making my lunch. The electricity is currently off and I didn't want to open the fridge door to put it back in yet.
I ran in and found one monkey sitting on the counter. Needless to say, I shooed him out as quickly as possible. I can't believe they were so quiet. I was sitting on the kitchen counter to take these pictures. The monkeys were less than 10 feet away.
Perched on the clothesline
This flower pot is about 4 feet away from the door
Looking up for bread crumbs falling from the back porch roof
There is the last of our bread
On the back porch
In the banda
Sitting at the edge of the kitchen garden about 5 feet away.
At one point one even climbed up to look in the window where I was sitting. We both were surprised!
The song "Ten Little Monkeys jumping on the bed" has a new more personal meaning!
I don't know what made me look over at the house, but I saw a tail of a monkey in the kitchen window! I looked down on the ground and saw that they had gotten the loaf of bread I had left out on the counter from making my lunch. The electricity is currently off and I didn't want to open the fridge door to put it back in yet.
I ran in and found one monkey sitting on the counter. Needless to say, I shooed him out as quickly as possible. I can't believe they were so quiet. I was sitting on the kitchen counter to take these pictures. The monkeys were less than 10 feet away.
At one point one even climbed up to look in the window where I was sitting. We both were surprised!
The song "Ten Little Monkeys jumping on the bed" has a new more personal meaning!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
