Epiphany

So I had an epiphany today.

Originally I was kind of frustrated because I am not picking up Kiswahili very fast. Since I am in the deaf education program I am learning Kenyan Sign Language not Kiswahili. My homestay family is helping me to learn Kiswahili.

I was sitting in the living room waiting for everyone to get finished getting ready for church so we could leave. While waiting I was eating an orange. The house boy came in and asked me if the orange was sweet. I automatically replied yes it is very sweet when in fact it was bitter and not like the oranges in America. Here in Kenya if someone asks you if something is sweet they are not referring to the taste. Sweet means it is very good. So I would say dinner was very sweet tonight because dinner was very good.

Also at that time there were also bananas on the plate. Instead of thinking Banana I thought Ndizi. So I might not be learning the words I want to learn but I am learning words.

One of the reasons I joined the Peace Corps is because I wanted to be immersed into a new culture and language. I am definitely being immersed into the culture and learning a lot. I am also learning a lot of Kenyan Sign Language and a little Kiswahili.