We are Africans!

Today, the second day at Matonyok, was really our first day of school (forget the title from yesterday). We split into teaching the individual standard groups (standards are basically grades, or levels...they use the British system) and began to teach. Ashton and I had the youngest kids, standard 1 I believe. There were 20 of them, but several wandered in and out throughout the day. Amy had 3 kids in standard 2 or 3, and then my mom had the standard 4 kids, of which there were 5. Ashton and I started with some math (basic addition and then an intro to subtraction) before realizing that the kids really had no idea what we were talking about. Eventually we just read stories, learned shapes, sang songs, and did some coloring. After 45 minutes of learning, the kids all get 5 or so minutes of playing outside before going back in to learn again. It was here that I learned the "fun value" of a tire. The kids had tons and tons of fun rolling tires around and letting me push the tires down the driveway into the play area. So then we went back in to learn up until lunch time. For lunch we again had beans and rice, this time with some sort of vegetable topping that Emmy picked from her garden just hours before. My Swahili has picked up a bit to where I can talk to the "groundskeeper" Emmanuel, who speaks very little English. Mike translates the gaps for each of us. After lunch we went with the kids to Learning Space, which is somewhat of a daycare/private school for kids sponsored by rich British people. Apparently when the kids who usually go there are on holiday, or summer, the kids from Matonyok are able to come and play. We all piled in to a huge safari truck that looked and felt much more like an army truck and drove the few minutes to the place. The kids played soccer, jumped on a trampoline, put on costumes, and did some paiting. We stayed there before heading back to Matonyok and then getting ready to go back to the hotel. Mike and Nosim took us again on the dalla-dallas, but this time Mike and I sat up front with the driver and worked a bit more on my Swahili. Mike keeps saying that the best way to learn a culture is to just walk around and talk to people, which he does with us everyday. We took the dalla-dalla to the market, where we had a grocery list from Emmy with things to get for the house. I myself purchased a delicious (kitamu) treat called "gunzi." It's corn that sits over a fire until it's kernels are somewhere between regular corn and popcorn kernels. It was really good. We got back on another dalla-dalla to get to the main part of town, and then with Mike and Nosim we walked to the vicinity of the hotel, upon which they left and we walked the last 2 or so blocks. On the last stretch, some teenager-looking kid named Nixon apparently recognized me, and he and I talked a bit in broken Swahili about how I suck at Swahili. Ah well. Another day in the books. Tomorrow we'll do it all again, although we are planning to go the Cultural Center, apparently a really nice shopping place. Usiku mwema (good night)