House/Learning Swahili

The house that we are staying in is beautiful.  It is maybe a little bear inside, but gorgeous none the less.  My favorite part is definitely the outdoor yard area.   The outside is so lush and well keep.  We have a kind of outdoor sitting area their too.  I love sitting out there.  I was out there today and a huge with purple spots just land on my hand and hung out there for at least like a whole minute.  I love that there is nature all around where I'm staying.

Another thing I love about this house is we have a house puppy.  One of the girls from the spring program adopted a street puppy and have been nursing it back to health.  The program director let her keep the dog in the yard and out of the house, and she is taking him home when she goes back.  For now, though, the dog is staying with us and he is the cutest the thing ever!

Today we went to our classroom and as part of our orientation they taught us how to speak some Swahili.  I am horrible at languages and so I'm not great with Swahili, but if there was ever a language I thought I had a chance at learning, Swahili would be it.  It is very phonetic and there isn't any of that masculine/feminine craziness you find in languages like French and Spanish.  I really wish I had more time to learn the language.  They are just going to give us two classes.  Lesley should invest in a couple of Swahili classes for the Spring semester.

Just to get a taste of what I'm learning:

• Mambo - is an informal greeting to which one responds Poa! which means cool
• Ji na lako ni nani? - What is your name?
• Jina langu ni... - My name is...
• Chakula ni Kitama sana! - The food is very delicious!
• Sina pesa. Samahani! - I don't have money. Sorry! (very useful with the Arusha street venders!)