Teaching English
Cindy has begun teaching English to a small group of Somali ladies. These are the same ladies that I did Somali literacy with last year though in a different location. There are currently 4 - 5 ladies who come together each Tuesday morning. We start with a Bible verse in Somali, then I rephrase it in very simple English. Then we sing songs in Somali. We've also started learning the song
God is so good. Three of the ladies are very motivated, and one woman especially wants to learn. I worked with her, working on pronunciation very closely. However, each time she sings this song, she sings:
God is so good,
God is no good,
God is no good, He's no good to me.
She gets the first line correct, but always changes that one letter from an s to an n, and changes the whole meaning of the song. We are having a fun time, laughing at silly mistakes, and hoping that this dear lady will get these words down pat.
More News on Obama Day in Kenya
One of the leaders of the Mennonite Church in Olepolos (a Masai village) called Cindy and told her that people in the village and church were slaughtering bulls to celebrate Obama's victory in the elections.
Holiday in Kenya
Today has been declared a national holiday in Kenya to celebrate the election of Barack Obama as president of the USA. For most people here Obama is a symbol of hope that change is possible and that Kenya can succeed. At NIST, where I teach, people were very happy with his election and they assume that most White American Christian opposition to him was based on race. I, unfortunately, think there is probably a some truth to that.
In Nyanza province near Lake Victoria the celebrations are even more exuberant. This is the area that Obama's father is from. Culturally people are recognized as children of the clan to which their father belongs. National boundaries do not hold much importance. Therefore, the Luo people from this region consider Obama to their son. It can seem rather odd to us, especially considering that his father basically abandoned him when he was 2-years-old. However, for now people are very happy, and they seriously believe that Obama's election will help their region economically. I hope they will not be too disappointed.
Just including a few flower pics from our garden.
