Challenge: In the spirit of Swahili: never use the letters X or Q; all S's must be prounounced hard (excluding in an sh
pair); C's may only be used as part of a ch
pair. Exception: proper names.
Ninajifunza Kiswahili.
I say this to every Tanzanian I meet here in Morogoro. In English: I am learning Swahili.
My previous entry ended halfway through my first day in Dar es Salaam. In the intervening time I have had many a small adventure. Nothing to write home about: I have written of the same flavour of event in my Uganda blog. Read this blog entry by Caitlin for the general idea. I rode in a dala-dala (minibus) so full that only one of my feet touched the ground; I rode in a tax (taxi) through a pseudo-ditch in the road near where I now live; and so on. Little stuff.
A dozen or so of us wazungu (white people) are staying together here in Morogoro for language training. The teaching is intense; happily, it lasts only until mid-afternoon. I am left with enough time to walk around the gorgeous town. I attempt to speak Swahili with the people I meet, with varying amounts of understanding. I am very far from being fluent, but I improve vastly each day.
I get great food, an evil shower, and amazing company: I am enjoying myself.
A week from now I will return to Dar es Salaam, where I will attempt to find a home and a life for the following months.