There are a couple reasons I need to get serious about
learning Swahili. Besides being able to communicate with my workers, kids and
teachers in their own language, I need to communicate with Mama Alice, the mother
of a student who comes to clean my house, wash clothes or cook for me every
other day. I realized this when I texted her that I was late and she came to my
house relieved I was just behind schedule and not dead. It’s all fun and games
until your translator application translates the wrong meaning of “late.”
Mama Alice was at my place yesterday. She cleaned up my
disaster of an apartment (the remains of a Friday night feast/slumbo jumbo with
two friends) then came into my room where I was lying face down on my pillow, mouth
wide open, a tissue stuffed up my nose, coughing up who knows what. It wasn’t a
pretty sight. I know that because I woke up to it on Saturday…and probably last
Saturday also (shoutout to Shayna and Mhairi #oshi). Anyways, she came and sat
next to me on my bed, her arm across my body just like my mom does when she
wants to chat while I’m in bed. Mama Alice started by saying she wanted to tell
me something but didn’t know English. Now, she does speak some English so I
told her to try. She explained in broken words that Alice is getting tutored
every day over break at Maasai Joy, the school where we sponsor the kids. It’s
50,000 for the month including transport. She told me that without this job,
she wouldn’t be able to afford it. She told me how thankful she was for me and
the job. I told her that I was happy to help her and I love having her
around.
Most days when she finishes, she sits at my table and
munches on any snacks she can find with a mug of water or tea. She really took
to the peanut butter crackers my dad brought for his flight, unfortunately they’re
gone now so I have to find something else for her to snack on. I would like to communicate with her better.
Even though we laugh a lot while trying to have an English – Swahili conversation,
knowing Swahili is important so I can tell her how much I appreciate her hard
work.
Another person who has inspired me to take learning Swahili
more seriously is Noella’s Aunt. You know, the woman who lives in a house
smaller than most of our bathrooms’ in the US with only a double bed and seven
kids to take care of. Last Wednesday, Elizabeth and I went shopping for Noella,
Angel and the little brother Frankie. We showed up to Auntie Noella’s house but
she was not home. The neighbors told us the family was out of food and the kids
were off playing, so Elizabeth and I went on our own to the hectic Tengeru
Market and got so many clothes for the kids! We also restocked on food for them
and gave Auntie Noella money to get clothes for her own four kids, shoes and
haircuts for all seven. The kids were so excited to get new clothes and they looked
so good in them! My little Noella smiled so big I hardly recognized her. The
Aunt was so grateful as well, but she has no idea how thankful I am that she
was so willing to take these kids. Elizabeth said “your brother’s kids are your
kids” so Auntie Noella is taking good care of them. We recently found out Noella's dad tested HIV positive, was left my his second wife and moved to a hospital in Tanga to be with his parents. He is out of the picture and I am so thankful we got the kids before their dad got so visibly sick. Who knows where they would be if we had waited a few weeks to get them. Auntie Noella kept thanking me and I
kept thanking her back, and that afternoon when I bought vegetables from her,
she gave me two bananas as a gift of appreciation. We smiled at each other,
thanked each other over and over again and I continued my walk back home. I can’t yet express how much I admire her and
how lost I would be if she didn’t take the kids with open arms. Hopefully one
day I can, but I just have to get to studying.
Right now, I’m sitting in my apartment writing this while I
eat my salmon and broccoli dinner. I get to escape Africa every night and go
back to my American life with chicken or fish, a carton of juice, silverware, a
couch, running water, electricity (usually), two pillows, a big bed, a shower, a full
belly, water. Luxuries. Here, I am luxurious. Mama Alice goes home every day to
a mud hut, eleven people in two beds, no electricity. Auntie Noella has seven
kids to take care of on her own, one bed, no electricity. Neither of them have
running water or their own toilets. They both sleep with padlocks on their
doors. I know that even if I don’t lock my apartment, it will be fine because
we have a guard and live on a safe street. I know that even if I don’t have
food in my house, I’ll still get to eat. I know that if I don’t have money, my
parents are always there to send a hundred bucks. Even these things are luxuries
here despite how simple they are.
I don’t like going in this direction with my posts, but I
think it’s appropriate for this one. I hope you will realize how lucky you are
to live in a country where the luxuries people don’t even know exist are some
of the simplest things you have. When you lay down in your bed tonight, imagine
sharing it with five, six or seven other people, then stretch out extra big and
appreciate that you probably either share it with one other person or nobody at
all. And when you wake up, appreciate that your phone is fully charged and all
the food in your fridge is still good because you didn’t lose power over night. Not to mention that you even have a fridge!
And even if you send/sent your child or children to private school, be glad
that there is/was at least an option for free education. That’s the end of this post and my
mini lecture, I’m off to catch a baby lizard before my kitten does. And
hopefully that slug the length of California that was in my shower this morning
is gone ;)
As always, thank you for the continued support. Happy Monday
to everyone at home, six months until I’m back there for my brother’s wedding!
YAY!
